Application Pieces
01 PLAYTOON Painted Steel Varied Dimensions 2006 This is a set of six painted steel fabricated oversized toy tanks with anthropomorphic qualities that that depict the stages of grief and acceptance in a way that would not be obvious to most viewers. They vary in size but are all at least five feet tall and no less than two feet wide. I’ve made roughly twenty different “tanks” that are meant to depict different narratives, but with a shared colorful and fun aesthetic. I produced my first set of these “tanks” during my summer at Franconia Sculpture Park in Minnesota. These sculptural forms have appeared in Sculpture Magazine, sculpture parks, and dozens of nationally juried exhibitions.
02 Toy Vehicles Painted Steel Varied Dimensions 2006 These are part of a larger body of work in which I made oversized fabricated steel toys that accommodate my body and serve as a reflection of myself. I have referred to them as self-portraits as the exhibit my passion for building, my love for playful learning experiences, and my fascination with fantasy. These works have also appeared in Sculpture Magazine and the photos included were taken in downtown Charlotte, NC.
03 Friendly Critters and the Friendship Bench Painted Steel HWD 4x7x5 ft for each Critter & 7x14x5 ft for the bench 2019 I was commissioned by the City of Ocala, Florida to produce a set of three (only two photographed here) Friendly Critters (meant for public interaction and the addition of a colorful aesthetic) and a bench that needed to match the color pallet of a similarly themed mural being produced as these forms were to install. The city wanted to promote themes of community building, friendship and play and I believe I succeeded in helping meet that goal when I designed and fabricated these sculptural forms that offer opportunities for play, relaxation, and conversation through the talking-tubes
04 Toy Time Machine HWD 7x4x8 ft Laptop, monitor, paint, recycled steel, seat, and fiberglass parts 2025 This sculpture incorporates a video component that is operated by the handles built inside the controller to play a movie I filmed that depicts the connection between my love for family, toys, and fantasy from childhood to present day.
05 Where No One Has Gone Before Varied Dimensions 2025 These forms are part of an installation that depicts my feelings as a studio artist through a sci-fi lens. I incorporated steel, recycled polyurethane foam, toys, and spray on bed liner to create these forms. They range in size but are all over three feet in height and weigh about five pounds apiece.
06 The Ballad of Paul HWD 1.5x4x1 ft 2023 This sculpture is recycled foam, fiberglass, and plastic and is meant as an homage to my predecessor in the art department at UNCP. He was very proud of his western upbringing and often incorporated cowboy figurines in his sculptures. This work was displayed with a written poem dedicated to Paul. It is roughly four feet long and eighteen inches tall.
07 Sheppard in Space HWD 1.5x3x1 ft 2023 This sculpture is recycled foam, fiberglass, and plastic and is meant as an homage to a colleague in the art department at UNCP. He was very proud of his love for science fiction and his family history who were amongst the earliest European settlers in the area surrounding UNCP. They still maintain an expansive four-hundred-year-old farm. This work was displayed with a written poem dedicated to my colleague, Austin Sheppard.
08 Life Painted Steel HWD 9x6x10ft 2010 This fabricated steel sculpture symbolically depicts a mother carrying a male child. I made it at a time when I was just beginning to realize I was ready to start a family and my intuitive designs like this one make that apparent to me now. Despite how I read the intent of this work, I’ve been excited to hear other people’s interpretations as one of the ground crew at UNCP has told me the cross shape represents Christ’s time on Earth and the arrow shape represents the home prepared for him in Heaven. I’ve heard other interpretations and find the flexible interpretation of abstract and non-representational work to be exciting.
09 Core Pitt Painted Steel HWD 14x4x7 ft 2015 This painted steel sculpture is part of a much larger body of work as I try to depict new life and new growth coming from the core of an already existing thing. This one is fourteen feet tall and was fabricated in less than four hours by more than fifty metal fabrication students at Pitt Community College near Greenville, NC after my design won a competition that was intended to bring a different kind of learning experience to the students in their welding program under my direction.
10 Structure Painted Steel HWD 14x10x6 ft 2014 This photo was taken at the Haen Gallery in Brevard, NC where it was on display for about a year. It’s been in several nationally juried exhibitions since then.
11 The Ball is in Play Stainless and Powder Coated Steel 2015 This set of three monumentally scaled sculptures was commissioned through the percent for art tax in Suwanee, GA for display outside of a indoor play complex that offers bowling, pool, and other times of gaming and sports activities. The designs were made after I did a series of gestural drawings of people performing some of these indoor sports activities. They are all roughly fifteen feet tall and incorporate stainless and mild steel with a graffiti resistant powder coating.
12 Missing You HWD 6.5x4x2 ft each Fabricated Steel These fabricated steel sculptures are meant to give the appearance of two extruded steel figures with matching hemispherical indentions that give space for the central sphere to connect between them. It represents two people who still share a love despite their separation. That shared love could be a child, and experience, or whatever the viewer wants to bring to it.
13 Key Winds Fabricated Steel and Aluminum HWD 10x8x2 ft 2018 I’ve made quite a few wind chimes. This is one of my more successful later attempts. I often tell people that the first two attempts made great hurricane alarms : ).
13 Key Winds Fabricated Steel and Aluminum HWD 10x8x2 ft 2018 I’ve made quite a few wind chimes. This is one of my more successful later attempts. I often tell people that the first two attempts made great hurricane alarms : ).
15 S-Curve Fabricated Steel and Iron Branded Wood HWD 5x4x9 ft 2023 This is another rapidly designed and fabricated bench that has offered a space for people to enjoy a restful moment.
16 Conceive Painted Steel HWD 8x2x1.5 ft 2013 This is painted fabricated steel meant for indoor display, but I liked it so much in outdoor settings that I built a second one specifically for outdoor display. It was originally designed at the time I was starting to realize that I was ready to become a father. If you study it for a moment, you may be able to identify how this is thematically related to that concept and my belief in the sanctity of life.
17 Bronze Bust Silicon Bronze HWD 2.5x1.5x0.5 ft 2007 This is the first of a series of bronze bust I’ve made using a simple two-part resin bonded sand mold process that allows me to rapidly make forms in clay and go straight to the mold making process the need for a wax copy to be made. I find the process much more fun and direct for students who are new to metal casting.
18 Hemispherical Composition #6 HWD 12x12x8 in Powder Coated Steel 2023 This is part of a larger body of indoor wall hanging sculptural forms made from powder coated fabricated steel. Some works in this series were coated in automotive paint and others were simply coated in wax.
19 Maman Stainless Steel HWD 8x2x3 ft 2019 This stainless-steel sculpture is directly related to my Core series but is also inspired by the work of Louise Bourgeois.
20 Tree and Root Painted Steel HWD 3x1x1 ft 2023 These nearly identical pieces are meant to display pointing different directions. The rich color is an automotive paint, and they are both roughly three feet in height.