The satisfaction of taking an idea and manipulating materials into a finished three-dimensional object is my major impetus for creating sculptural and functional pieces. Building tree-houses as well as make-shift tanks and guns for war games as a child, the process of crafting items from my imagination based on whatever materials were at hand originated on the farm in the midwest where I was raised. Though the end result and craftsmanship may have changed, the impulse to create and the enjoyment of the physical process remains much the same to me. The materials often dictate the direction of the piece, though no strict formula is followed and serendipitous variations are allowed to vary the original concept.
Just as I take pleasure in the manipulation of materials, I feel the viewer must physically contact the piece to more fully understand the work. Sometimes the viewer is challenged to solve a puzzle, activate a mechanism or induce motion to the piece; yet, other times the viewer may simply feel the line and shape of the forms. In a society where velvet ropes and glass walls often keep us at a distance, I prefer my work to be handled directly rather than merely viewed.
*Greg Gehner*