Double Helix

Wood

96 x 14 x 14”

The rate of the rotation was derived by accommodating the anomalies (warts) on the log’s surface.

2008

Double Helix

Detail

2008

Harvest

Stained wood, resin and India ink

14 x 14 x 6”

2008

The moon is the wall seen through a hole at the back of a resin filled bowl. The moon’s craters were created by repeatedly poking the resin from the backside and rubbing ink into the pours.

Mel’s Hole

Enamel paint on wood, acrylic on foam insulation

14” sphere

2008

Vigil

Wood, silver plated Ritz Carlton ashtray stand, cell vinyl, deer antler, motor

40 x 18 x 20”

2008

Wood, silver plated Ritz Carlton ashtray stand, acrylic, tree sap, deer antler and motor

The antler tip on the platform rotates slowly in a pirouette reminiscent of a jewelry box ballerina. The medicine wheel platform is oriented to the cardinal directions.

Ouroboros

Walnut

18 x 8 x 8”

2008

Proprietary Dream Mandala

Used casino playing cards from the Silverado in Deadwood, SD, on aluminum

36” dia x 1”

Based on a dream where I saw ‘this’ artwork on a collector’s wall and obsessed for the remainder of the dream about plagiarizing the idea.

The geometry of the cards is numerically resolved in every direction (concentrically and radially) and completes a full cycle through the four suits, requiring exactly 169 cards, beginning and ending with the Ace of Spades. Upon completion of the cycle, the cards fold back on themselves in a perpetual return.

2008

Resurrection of the Green Man

Los Angeles River algae and resin on wood base

14 x 20 x 20”

Based on a dream in which I was wandering in the desert and came upon a common man being beaten by two men in black suits and dark sunglasses. I came to his aid and in the intervening struggle one of the assailants turned a gun on me. I wrestled with the man until I was able to turn the weapon on him and pulled the trigger. The gun produced only water, but it caused the man to melt before my eyes, so I turned on the other brut and dispatched him in like fashion.

When I turned my attention to the common man I found him lying in the desert sand, apparently dead. I got close and could hear a faint rustling from somewhere deep in his chest and he proceeded to sprout vegetation from all of his orifices. As I backed away the vegetation surged across the landscape and transformed the desert into a lush Eden.

Conceived prior to the 2008 election, my museum exhibit ‘Resurrection of the Green Man’ opened the day after Obama’s inauguration.

2008

Ring Nebula Sri Yantra

Inlaid playing cards (Kings and Queens) and acrylic on paper

18 x 24”

2008

Solicitation

Manzanita burl, deer antler, wood and fabric

6 x 9 x 6”

These claws were inspired by a chance encounter with a Yoruba Priest and his four acolytes, and their solicitation to create wooden ceremonial bowls, presumably for ritual sacrifice.

Shortly after this experience, in a friend’s driveway I had a profound encounter an urban hawk holding a dead pigeon, refusing me passage. The hawk later reappeared circling high over my studio with its prey in tow, surrounded by four companion hawks.

The claws were created to fit my index finger and thumb, rendering my hand useless for anything but predation.

2008