I am originally from Portsmouth, England, where I worked as a gardener for a number of years before studying to become an artist. I completed my BA (Hons) in Ceramics at The Polytechnic Wolverhapton UK in 1988, and my MFA Ceramics at University of Nebraska Lincoln in 1993. I have received grants and awards from the Clay Studio, University of Nebraska, Nebraska Arts Council and The Bader Fund. Although I have taken part in a number of exhibitions, my work is mainly commission based. I have completed many brick sculptures for both public and private clients. I lived in Lincoln NE since then, and moved in 2010 to Philadelphia PA, where I am a practicing artist.
My work has been featured in a number of publications such as American Craft, Ceramics Monthly, SMART dynamics of masonry, Landscape Architecture, Rockland Magazine and Dallas Morning News, to mention a few.
Some of my major commissions are; “Hornets Nest” 2015, Arts and Science Council, Charlotte NC, “Convergence” 2015 Blue Barn Theatre, Omaha NE, “Arches of Resurgence” 2013, SEPTA Philadelphia PA, “27th Street Hearth” 2012, City of Lincoln NE, “Silo” “Memory Wall” “Human Landscape Fireplace” 2005-2010, William Roskens Nashville NE, “Haverstraw Trophy” 2005 Rockland County AIPP, Haverstraw NY, “Spring Valley Terms” 2001 DART, Richardson TX.
I am a sculptor who has worked almost exclusively with brick for more than thirty years.
Functional and semi-functional elements are often an integral part of my sculpture, I don’t view them as an impediment to the artistic form, rather they drive it to become more when human involvement is present.
For me, using this humble everyday material to create public art can be a good vehicle for metaphor, mainly because of its accessibility to a wide audience, particularly in the brick-centric urban settings on the East Coast.
I create sculpture that synthesizes brick with the natural landscape. Though non-representational, my sculptures express a variety of concepts, for example, being altered by the water, growing out of the ground, community, time passing, or a feeling of exuberance and movement.
A good example of the type of work I do is the project I completed for SEPTA and the community of Strawberry Mansion at 33rd and Dauphin Streets. It draws together a variety of disparate themes, such as, the trees in Fairmount Park, the neighborhood, architecture, (onetime resident) John Coltrane, the triangular configuration of the site, and ideas of resurgence.
This, and many other projects included meetings with the various stakeholders, including architects, before we came to a consensus on a design. A good way of including the community in public art that I have found effective in the past is to run a workshop where they alter a number of bricks themselves. I feel that this approach goes way beyond vandalism prevention, giving the community a true sense of ownership and pride in a meaningful work of art.