I have been making sculpture in Edmonton for more than two decades. I generally work with welded scrap steel and soldered knickknack brass. Both types of media offer varied vocabularies of readymade shapes with which to work, and the ability to alter and assemble these elements in an improvisational manner. Overall, I draw inspiration from my materials, and from the history of art. My work is driven by a desire to create unpretentiously elegant sculptures that engage viewers’ aesthetic intuitions.

Most of my recent sculptures in steel and brass have been abstract in style, small in scale, and bilateral in format. Their style is rooted in the Cubist collage/construction tradition. Their size is a consequence of the constituent elements, and my intention to establish expressive unity between the structure and surface of the sculpture. Their format, juxtaposing wide front and back views with narrow side profiles, reinforces a ‘pictorial’ reading of the works while also offering visual surprise as you move around the sculptures.

My process is one of free experimentation within my chosen media, which allows me to playfully manipulate metal shapes in my studio, cutting and joining parts without regard to their prior use. One move leads to the next, and each sculpture evolves according to my perception of its emergent character. My materials, whether scrap-yard steel or thrift-shop brass, have invariably served some previous function. By repurposing these readymades, resurrecting them within new sculptures, I seek to create timeless art that nevertheless reflects this particular moment in our world.