Vendor Interview- Practical Creativity
Tell our readers a little bit about yourself and your work.
I'm a blue collar artist and craftsman who makes art wherever I go. I've always been drawn to using found objects and inexpensive, odd materials. For many years, I made my living painting houses and creating gardens, but a hip replacement in 2009 sent me back to my workbench, and to my history of magnet and jewelry-making and glass work. We had recently moved into a rental house. The previous owner was a handyman/do-it-yourselfer from the Depression era. He died several years ago, and the new owners (our landlords) took over and never cleared up his old collection of nuts, bolts, washers, old brake fluid cans, tools - all kinds of stuff that usually ends up in a landfill. They told me to use what I wanted - and when I saw all of his old nuts and bolts laid out next to my jewelry glass and magnet materials, the Robot Pioneers were born. They’ve since had many more names given them – Blockheads, Monsters of Fun, and I expect more will surface before long.
What are some sources of inspiration for your work?
Sustainability. I walk the city the same way I walk on a beach – eyes on the ground, eyes in the air, my eyes are everywhere. I find things others have tossed away. And then I put them together into a brand new creature.
What was the best thing you did with your summer?
Garage Sailing / Sale-ing with my wife and little boy and family in the smallest towns of the deep Midwest and on the Olympic Peninsula – and working in my basement laboratory making creatures come alive.
Are you showcasing anything new at the winter UCU show?
Yes, indeed – I’ve been working like mad in my own version of Santa’s workshop, creating affordable, one-of-a-kind, robot-pioneer-blockhead ornaments that will hang around for any holiday. Actually, everything I make is new. Every single piece is one of a kind.
What are you most excited about for UCU?
Having new people be introduced to my work, and I love talking to other vendors. I’m interested in other artists and their businesses. And I like talking to people strolling by and browsing. I like seeing who buys my work, knowing who my creatures are going home with.
See more of Practical Creativity here and at the show!
