Upholstered Tree,
Soft Shoulder in American Gothic

Crab apple tree upholstered in outdoor upholstery fabric and ventilated backing. 506” x 340” x 340”.

Listening Stations for Birds,
that play human music

Installation detail, Abington Center for the Arts, 2008.

Good Book Titles

Book stack with original titles scratched out and new ones written in, 14” x 96” x 13”, 230 lb.

To read the list of titles click here.

The Hand Up Project,
attempting to meet the needs of natural life forms

Due to a global loss of seashells, land hermit crabs--which live in discarded shells for protection —are facing a severe housing shortage. In attempting to meet the new needs of this natural life form, I have started fabricating alternative forms of housing, out of plastic, for land hermit crabs. Utilizing rapid prototyping technology, I have designed these shelters in auto CAD then created each, in one piece with a laser. Based upon the designs of Guiseppe Terragni, a fascist architect working in the late 1920’s, these fabricated structures are better than what nature can provide. They have a large internal space to weight ratio—which the animal seeks, and because they are non-biodegradable they will out live the life span of he species itself, thereby assuring many generations of hermit crabs ample passed down housing. For more see Ideas Page.

.

Effigy,
from the Nike Missle Cozy Project

This is a view from the back to the front of a thirty-seven foot long Nike-Hercules Nuclear Warhead Cozy, stuffed. After upholstering a ten-ton Nike Hercules Missile at its launch site, the protective covering was taken off the missile and stuffed, reasserting the missile as a soft bodied, lumpy, variant of its original form. The stuffed Missile is shown elevated on sawhorses at the Headlands Center for the Arts as part of a part of a Project Space residency. See www.headlands.org

The Nike Missile Cozy Proect,
at the Headlands Historic Nike Missle Site

This is a view of a 10 ton 1957 Nike-Hercules Nuclear/Conventional Warhead, sitting on its launch pad. I have upholstered it in eighty-eight yards of light blue quilted satin. The piece involved softening and familiarizing this object by hand mapping it in its silo at the headlands Nike Missle site. The pattern that was created then allowed me to make a "cozy" style covering for the warhead.

.

Upholstered Stones,

Installation detail, Stedman Center for the Arts. .

Uposltered Stone,
shown here as upholstered and un-upholstered stones

Top stone has been hand mapped, thinly padded and then upholstered. The up-
holstery pieces are affixed to the stone with out direct attachment by stitching the pieces around the stone- each seam equally stress with the object inside. Other items that have been upholstered include discarded shoes, bricks, tin cans and a 10-ton Nike Hercules Missile at the Headlands Nike Missile site.

Plant Sweater

Dimensions variable.

Half,
all the apples on one tree, in an orchard, halved

This is a detail view of an apple tree in an orchard in Occidental California. I halved all of its fruit while still on the tree. This site-specific piece is shown as two large format cibachrome prints.

Mercury,
promoting armchair technology in the pursuit
of the better visions

This piece is a version of the Mercury reentry module recreated, to scale, out of couch cushions, lawn furniture, throw pillows and duct tape— as one might if one were building a fort made out of stuff from around the house. One can climb inside of it, the back wall is perforated with pen holes— recreating the stars of the Southern Hemisphere. Hawaiian slack key guitar music plays in the interior cavity and the entire form is suspended so it sways gently.

The Story of the Donner Party,
in five movements

The Story of the Donner Party In Five Movements is part of a body of work comprised of snow domes depicting mini scenes of despair. This particular piece is a series of five snow globes depicting the story of the Donner Party in five movements. Shown here are the last two parts of the story. Near right is Movement #4: snowed in at the summit and far right is Movement #5: deliverance.

Tall Stack,
two hundred and seven kiln dried pancakes in epoxy resin.

Good Baseball Rocks,
please hold

Inviting us to experience the violent underpinning of competitive sports, Good Baseball Rocks, please hold are rocks fitted with leather baseball patterns. A real baseball can be seen in the background.

Plant Sweater

Giant Sequoia sapling with sweater. Dimensions variable.