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Studio Fossils, 2018-
Fossils are rarely created within the strata of the earth - and they are just as rarely found. In order for these records of past life to be preserved, a number of factors must be present from the moment of death/entrapment of the subject, and these factors must remain in place for hundreds, thousands, or millions of years, undisturbed from critical thresholds. However, we can replicate a number of these factors using materials and techniques in the art studio: extreme heat, malleable clays, and wet saws. By creating my own fossils, I contract time, and present objects from yesterday, a million years ago. This gains the objects I "fossilize" temporary gravitas, and invites viewers to examine each component with renewed consideration.

Aleatoric Experiments, 2019-

Much of my process is a conversation between myself, material, and circumstance. Rather than force material into forms I dictate, I celebrate the inherent characteristics of each collaboration. Cooling wax has unique properties similar to those of curing plaster, yet not identical. Crystals will grow under certain circumstances, yet that growth will be mathematica, governed by the chemical reactions present more than my hand or concept. I'm drawn to the honesty of this process, and to the foregrounding of the materials involved.

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Fusing Experiments, 2019-

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Metamorphosis of various mineral and material bands within the earth is the result of extreme temperatures and pressures. Heat is one of the most important tools of humankind - with careful application of this force, we cook our food, keep our bodies comfortable in inhospitable climates, and create all glass, ceramic, metallic, and plastic materials with which we build our world. Heat is sometimes used as a source of electric power conversion, pumping current into our devices. Applying heat to various materials is a simple 1:1 procedure that calls to mind the plethora of possibilities within the materials surrounding us. 

Frames of Reference (Tabloids), 2018-

Rock builds upon rock to create various stratigraphic relationships that characterize the geology of a place. But the building of rock is not a one-time event. The atmospheres and materials that make up "rock" are unique players, orchestrating a conversation over thousands, millions, and in some places, billions, of years. This series of works explores strata, or the banded layers of a material. I pour molten metal into a form, filling the void only partially. After the metal solidifies, I pour more in. Where the molten iron contacts the cooler material below, the metal forms turbulences and shelves, sags and wrinkles. I drop various inclusions between these layers, furthering the illusion of geology. Each of these pieces may take between an hour or a week to pour, but this timeframe fades to noise when compared to the eon-spanning process happening beneath and around us at all times. 
To form this latest iteration of the project, I have began to use a two-part cast iron mold I cast for this purpose. The dimensions of the resulting piece are 11" x 17," the standard size of a tabloid print.  This size and ratio calls to mind news or text, and broadens the reference to writing.

In Our Image, 2019 -

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Using photos sourced from the 9 "Top Posts" of certain location tags on Instagram, I create 3D objects through photogrammetry to create user-defined portraits of each location.