2010 WORKS

2010 becomes my most productive year as a pure artist. I had lost my job that I held for 11 years and was going through many emotions. 

At this time the economy was very poor and jobs were scarce. It was a struggle to hold onto my home, but I fought and most important survived while trying to stay as positive and hopeful as possible.

My art became my refuge. Creating these works requires 100% attention as just in chess every move is important.

These works were 100% hand carved outdoors out of single piece wide boards of mahogany. I had very limited tools at the time which defined the style that defines me.

Other than HEARTBROKEN all the following works were created along Boathouse Row and the Azalea Garden behind the art museum in Philadelphia as I spent anywhere from 8- 10 hours indulged in my art.

I loved this beautiful piece of Spanish Cedar that had sap leaching to the top creating the speckles. It provided a great contrast to the natural cedar that was revealed through the carving of the letters.

I also loved the simplicity of this work as used only as straight rasp to outline the letters and one gouge to remove material inside the lines.

The first carving following my unemployment was No Man Shall Build Upon My Soil.

This piece was a self-portrait of sorts defining who I was. The anvil represented strength. The hammer represented the drive and the apple purity and completeness.

The next work was Peace.

It was an homage to the classic tradition of throwing your sneakers onto electric lines whether to mark your territory or celebrate moving on.

One of the fun parts of creating this work was carving/creating space between the shoelace and background.

The next work was The Resurrection. 

Another self portrait as well as a trinity reference.

The outlet or power source is open, a gallon of milk showing purity and the light switch on open meaning giving light. 

The one thing I will remember about this work is how loud and percussive it was when carving it.

Next carved was Beautiful Wishes

A self portrait as a strong racehorse on the move. I really enjoyed carving the shallow straps on this work

I then carved I'm not afraid of dying.

This piece represented taking a bite out of life without care (or a cupcake). I really liked carving the big sprinkles as well as the punk quality of the paint job.

Next, I created A Mother's Wisdom based off a poem I wrote.

As always whenever I would carve or create, I was trying to take my craft to a new level. I designed the next work By the End of This Story You Will Be in Tears as another work in memory of my Nan passing

At the time I thought it was pretty intricate, made a dedication to the mostly forgotten era/ beauty and craft of the 1920"s to 1960"s

I then carved FATHER/SON.

This piece refers to the bond and strand holding a father and son together. It is also a continuation of the hands theme I had been producing over the years. This work features the most detailed version while in a 2d format.

The string in the picture below was carved to be floating off the board to produce the connection.

The next work was The Duke.

This work was in memory of my Grandad as not only a reference to his love for fishing but also the tangled lines representing the journey of life.

I remember him saying as we both got older in life " where did all the time go?" and doing this blog chronicling the past 24 years I'm wondering the same.

I then created We Once Existed as being the most challenging I've ever carved due to the interlocking grain of the wood.

Towards the end 2010 my art begins to shift as I begin to utilize a variety of experimental concepts merged into what I was defining as "abstract anatomy" which I later defined in 2012 for a book on the making of the work TO LOVE IS TO SAVE. 

The first work completed in this four-part series was:

​Infinity was based off the Fibonacci sequence as well as utilizing the power and energy of scrolls. 

I then created FREEDOM This work shows the power source as more of a flower that energizes a flourishing system.

I then created UNWOKEN.

This work is a reference to a poem I wrote with the beginning phrase "I am a dream unwoken"

The power source is reminiscent of St Basil's cathedral in Russia as architecture has always played a role in my mind/designs. 

The last piece in this series is SURRENDER. This work is fueled be the dispersion of sense of smell featuring a glowing abstract pine cone type power source and vented central brain system.