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functional art

This piece and the What Would Elvis Do? mirror were created for a show of all-Elvis art at Fleur Fine Art in Chicago....

When my dad was young he had a series of pet crows, all named Peter, and Peter was the hero of my bedtime stories....

Vévé for Erzuli Mosaic Table, 2003 vitreous glass, glass gems, steel table. 30" Tall x 42" x 42" Commission Laurie Beasley of Ridge Art commissioned this table, featuring a version of the Vévé for Erzulie, the Haitian goddess (Lwa) of love. My mosaic of the Vévé for Erzuli was...

La Femme Astrale, 1999 ceramic tile, plywood substrate. 24" x 48" x 17" high Stolen, whereabouts unknown The design for this table was adapted from a 19th Century French poster for a floating woman act.… This is one of a set of four tables I did in collaboration with...

Cocktail Girls, 1999 ceramic tile, glass, plywood substrate. 24" x 48" x 17" high Private Collection The design for this table came from an antique matchbook… Most of my early mosaics were based on old 4 color ads and posters. The limited colors of tile I was using seemed...

Ballad of the Dragon, 1999 ceramic tile, glass, plywood substrate. 24" x 48" x 17" high Commission The design for this table was adapted from a metal engraving by José Guadalupe Posada. The eye is a photo pasted behind a Xerox copier lense. Most of my early mosaics were...

The Friendly Gesture, 1999 ceramic tile, slate, plywood substrate. 24" x 48" x 17" high Private Collection The design for this table came from an antique matchbook. The tile is a mix of ceramic and porcelain. The cigars I carved from slate....

Mud's Marker, 2001 Concrete, Ceramic tile 12.5" H x 12" W x 4" D Commission I made the headstone above for Mud, a friend's cat who had sadly used up it's allotment of nine lives. The marker has been through five long winters in Michigan with no sign of...

Garden Meditation Gong. 2006. Recycled steel. 85" H x 35" W x 12" D Private Collection The freestanding garden gong above would make a nice centerpiece for any garden… it requires a concrete pad below grade to stabilize it (or you could do something like a cool stonework base...

Antique Radiator Firewood Cradle, 1999 Cast iron, recycled steel. 23.5" x 22" x 8.5" Custom Order item I love the visual pun of making a cradle for holding fire wood from sections of an old radiator. This piece was originally made as a Christmas present, but I'd be into...

The gates shown here are largely created from various recycled elements. They were part of a larger project in Chicago, IL by Kenneth Morrison on which I collaborated....

Window Grilles, 2005: steel, 20.75" H x 20" W x .25" D Private Collection This pair of window grates was created from a sheet of scrap steel left over after a factory cut blanks for what might have been rotating blades for a mower. I included a larger...

City Gates, commissioned by Bob Racky for his offices at 4022 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, features two pairs of gates based on maps of the Chicago area. The south gates show Riverside, IL and feature urban planning by Frederic Law Olmstead in the lower left...

A collaboration with Kenneth Morrison. He originated the concept and sketched a rough layout for overall project. I designed and fabricated indivdual panels. The choice of which panels went together was his. It was a little like an enormous steel version of the exquisite corpse...

These graceful figures suggest both the motion of their dance and the music that moves them. The obvious joy of the figures is engaging— but their simplicity is what really captivates us. We can easily see ourselves, someone we know, or the person we might...

I was (and still am) one of those kids who always feels compelled to lean chairs back on two legs. I didn't get into making furniture just to avoid being yelled at, or breaking chairs, but I do believe that in addition to being beautiful...

Frankie Machine Community Garden Sign, 2003 Recycled Steel. The sign for Frankie Machine Community Garden in Chicago used to get stolen on a fairly regular basis by Nelson Algren fans… So I was hired to create a sign that would be more difficult to abscond with....

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