I have always been driven to design and build things. The potential of what could be was something of which I had a sense. Growing up in a family of engineers and physicists, I assumed that my path would also be along these lines. Art was not something that I thought I could ever do for a living.

I graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in Physical Geography. Though Geography was my major, any elective class or free time was spent in the university art department where I helped do bronze casting.

I joined the Peace Corps in 1992 and was a part of the first group of volunteers to go to the Soviet Union. I lived and worked in Chirchik, Uzbekistan for two years where I taught English. During this period I painted and made cardboard models of sculptures. This was a difficult time in a difficult place and more than 60% of the volunteers in my group quit before the two years were over.

In 1997 I enrolled in a MFA program in industrial design at the Savannah College of Art and design. This field really appealed to both my right and left brain. In this intense course of study we were taught design methodologies as well as the tools of industrial design; drawing, model making, computer aided design, rapid prototyping and Computer aided manufacturing.

The tools of the industry are very powerful and for the first time in my life I was able to focus my creativity into something and see positive results.

Toward the end of my studies in Savannah I started to fantasize about using the powerful design tools of industrial design for making fine art.

After graduating with my MFA, I headed across the country toward San Francisco to seek a design job in the then swelling dot-com economy of 2000. Along the way I spent some time windsurfing in the Columbia River Gorge area. The power and beauty of the place is overwhelming. Although I did make it to San Francisco, I came back to the gorge shortly thereafter and began a life making and selling fine art sculptures.

I am living in White Salmon, Washington, with my wife and two children (born in 2002 and 2003). In 2004 we bought a dilapidated commercial building in the downtown of White Salmon and converted it to art studios. Inside this building I have a computer lab, wood shop and metal fabrication shop. I also rent out studios to 5 other professional artists.

I extensively use the tools of industrial design in my pursuit of art. Most pieces begin as a 3-D model in CAD. I then extract and design the components. Often I use CNC technology to cut the parts in steel or wood. The work is then assembled and painted or stained.

Although the work looks like it is made in an additive process, often it is actually the result of a subtractive process, much like stone carving. The solid out of which the work was designed exist on the computer. Once I come up with a form from which to work, I often cut the solid on the X and Y axis. I then save the cut patterns and throw away the solid. The cut patterns become the templates for fabricating the parts. In this way, the physical manifestation of my work, often skeleton like, hints at larger masses and volumes.

Thanks for the interest in my work. Please contact me with comments questions or interest in acquiring a unique piece.

John