Artist Statement

Someone once described me as a global community oriented object maker. This may seem like a contradiction since art objects usually remain rhetorical, however, it is an example of the constant dilemma I face as an artist. I am an artist who, among other things, is interested in global communities and making objects.

Through my object making I want to promote what I call manual interaction: when one must physically work for an object to interact with them. I do not make kinetic or electronic sculpture that does something when you merely walk into a space or come close to touching the object, I make sculpture that makes you work. This includes bike-powered kaleidoscopes, apple dispensers, climbable margarita fountains, high loft spaces, and paper rollers.

Manual interaction has led me to become increasingly aware of our tactile senses. With technology advancing so quickly and becoming smarter and smarter, I feel that the importance of tactile intelligence is being lost. I want to embrace the world where one must know how to turn the knob on the faucet for water to come out, where one must spin a handle for a paper towel to dispense or must learn how to flush the toilet by hand. While it is inevitable that technology is an extremely important factor in economic and social global development, I believe that it is entirely possible for technology to advance while embracing the simplicity of our tactile senses.

So, how do objects and tactile senses relate to global communities? As a globally aware citizen actively involved in the fight to minimize waste, most of the objects I create are made out of reused materials. By collecting waste materials and engaging in creative reuse of materials, I re-purpose materials to function in a new way, giving them a second or third life. The issue of waste in my work also manifests itself in other ways such as: mini-golf courses; journals and wallets; unique social space-building; studies of sustainable function of material; using art and design to promote preserving natural resources; collaborating to design a student run no-waste school café; and developing a program to facilitate community built playgrounds. Just a small facet of how creative thinking can relate to the world, these are just some of the ways that I am addressing our global community.

As my interests and ideas develop, my current thoughts are a moving platform towards increasing positive sustainable change in my work as well as the world.