Motion and things mechanical have fascinated me since childhood. While studying for my art degree, an instructor gave an assignment to make a non-functional clay piece. Remembering childhood experiences of making marble runs in a large pile of dirt, I began to emulate these in clay. I graduated from Minnesota State University, Moorhead, in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Working as a functional potter for fifteen years, I experimented with kinetic sculptures in clay. Clay turned out to be a very limiting and frustrating medium for this type of work. After a few years of struggling with clay, it occurred to me that just because I was a potter, didn’t mean I had to work in clay! (A real slap in the forehead moment.) After a few years of experimenting with different materials and methods, I found stainless steel to be the perfect medium for what I envisioned. Artist Philosophy.

In 1996 my wife Deb had to talk me into doing the first art shows with my new work. I felt I was the only one who would be interested in this moving sculpture. At that point I decided to give myself five or six years to see if I could develop a clientele and make it as a Kinetic artist and phase out the pottery.

The first two shows were small local shows and the third was the prestigious Smithsonian Craft Show. Within six months I no longer had time to do any pottery. The crowds of people that came to see, and buy, my work dumbfounded me. It still does. With inquiries and sales from Saudi Arabia to Singapore I live an artists dream.

I live with my wife Deborah, son Carl and daughter Kaila in Fergus Falls, a small town in west-central Minnesota.