I love to make things with my hands. My first sculptures as a professional artist were representational human figures made of clay. Clay is a very grounding material to work with; it soothes the soul. Building with clay also creates an opportunity for quiet contemplation. As my sculptures became larger, however, I began to lose interest in the predictable work of building. I found myself wanting a 3-D medium that would allow me to work more improvisationally.

A solution emerged when I noticed a colleague making geometric objects out of wire. I saw that I would be able to make people out of wire. It was immediately satisfying. Working the wire, bending and forming it with my pliers and hands, was like drawing in space. Over time, I noticed I was becoming more adventurous in seeing how far I could go making abstractions of the body that the viewer would still interpret as human.

I have often been asked whether I sculpt the figures by following a pattern or using a jig. My brain has always been good at visualizing in space and my figures are made freehand. While I sometimes copy in wire a sketch I made on paper, my work is freer when I riff directly with the wire.

With my clay sculptures, I had begun to compose groups in relationships or conversations. Wire figures allowed me to explore even more complex compositions, all the way to crowd scenes so dense they formed abstract shapes of their own.

Wire continues to be a fruitful medium of exploration both for its own intrinsic qualities, as well as for how I can use it to realize evolving aspects of my artistic vision. In one current series of sculptures, for instance, I have been applying colors with spray paint across the whole composition, treating the figures almost as a landscape rather than as individual bodies. It is a subtle way of enhancing their connection.

“Abraham Begat Isaac Begat Jacob…”, 1993.
Ceramic, acrylic, plaster, pigment,
36” H x 35” W x 32” D.

I love to make things with my hands. My first sculptures as a professional artist were representational human figures made of clay. Clay is a very grounding material to work with; it soothes the soul. Building with clay also creates an opportunity for quiet contemplation. As my sculptures became larger, however, I began to lose interest in the predictable work of building. I found myself wanting a 3-D medium that would allow me to work more improvisationally.

“Hide and Seek II” detail

“Vignettes I: Tic Tac Toe” detail

A solution emerged when I noticed a colleague making geometric objects out of wire. I saw that I would be able to make people out of wire. It was immediately satisfying. Working the wire, bending and forming it with my pliers and hands, was like drawing in space. Over time, I noticed I was becoming more adventurous in seeing how far I could go making abstractions of the body that the viewer would still interpret as human.

I have often been asked whether I sculpt the figures by following a pattern or using a jig. My brain has always been good at visualizing in space and my figures are made freehand. While I sometimes copy in wire a sketch I made on paper, my work is freer when I riff directly with the wire.

I have often been asked whether I sculpt the figures by following a pattern or using a jig. My brain has always been good at visualizing in space and my figures are made freehand. While I sometimes copy in wire a sketch I made on paper, my work is freer when I riff directly with the wire.

“Hide and Seek II”, 2024.
Painted steel wire on wood panel
27 5/8″ H x 29″ W x 4″ D

With my clay sculptures, I had begun to compose groups in relationships or conversations. Wire figures allowed me to explore even more complex compositions, all the way to crowd scenes so dense they formed abstract shapes of their own.

“Covalent Bonds II“, 2021.
Painted steel wire on wood panel,
30 1/8″ H x 47 1/8″ W x 4″ D, (framed)

Wire continues to be a fruitful medium of exploration both for its own intrinsic qualities, as well as for how I can use it to realize evolving aspects of my artistic vision. In one current series of sculptures, for instance, I have been applying colors with spray paint across the whole composition, treating the figures almost as a landscape rather than as individual bodies. It is a subtle way of enhancing their connection.