JCAM, Vol. 2, No. 1
teach Sculpture and Design at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I am fully committed to the idea that a concept needs to be realized in three dimensions in actual material to succeed as a sculpture. At the same time that I decided to return to school I determined that I had to build a record of exhibitions. I systematically applied to every opportunity that fit my budget and travel limitations. Entering competitive shows meant that I had to have work to show so I was forced to make time for working in the studio (at that time a small room in the basement of our rented house.) I established a pattern of working every day on sculpture or other design projects that I have maintained ever since. The reality of an artists’ life is that it is one of ceaseless work. The only ‘ritual’ that applies to my studio/artistic process is that I find that I am most productive and motivated when I clean and organize my studio space before beginning a new sculpture or project. Cleaning up and preparing the workspace seems to provide me with a quiet time for my mind to organize itself. I also believe that simply working, even if it is only cleaning, sweeping the floor or doing some maintenance on my vehicle or trailer or power equipment is all that I need to get me going. I don’t need a grand idea or inspiration to start creating I just have to get going and the ideas appear. There are so many thoughts that one has while working that it seems impossible to find oneself without an idea or notion to try. When I am too tired to work in the studio I draw. I make sketches or diagrams on grid-paper that act as reminders for me of the three-dimensional forms that the drawings evoke in my mind. These drawings usually result in cardboard models that I can make rapidly and that then present a myriad of new possibilities. I have tried to learn and use digital media to create models and to develop concepts but the learning curve is too steep for me. I admire those who have been able to adapt to this new way of working and I even envy the seeming ease with which these images can be created and manipulated. I would love to be able to rotate images of my ideas in the imaginary space of the computer screen but I am afraid that I am stuck with my old organic processor and its antiquated output mechanism, the hand. In any case, I manage to keep busy and I don’t limit my expression to one medium or approach. Most recently I was selected to participate in the Sculpture by the Sea Bondi exhibition in Sydney, Australia. Sculpture by the Sea is considered to be the most viewed public sculpture exhibition in the world and it is very competitive. My work that was selected for the 2014 SxS exhibition was an installation of survey flags. These small vinyl flags are used around the world to mark everything from water lines to construction boundaries. I designed an installation, which responded to the particular Australia landscape that I had experienced on a previous trip down under. Called “Red Center”, the installation was composed of 8,000 flags that were installed on Tamarama Beach. “Red
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