My show for my BFA in Ceramics from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale was titled “Noted in Anthropomorphism” in 2000.

My first “legged musical character” came out of an exercise at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, IL. in 1995.  This was my first 2-D college art class.  The exercise was to draw a line continuously on a sheet of paper until the professor said, "Stop."  Then find something within that mess of lines.  I found a soldier carrying a weapon, but I told everyone it was a musician and their instrument.  At that time, three years had passed since getting out of the Marine Corps, and I still wasn’t willing to share my experience, or even talk about my service.

In 1999, Harris Deller challenged me during an intensive summer session to make something personal.  So, that summer I decided to create sculptural forms from the drawings and paintings I had developed from the continuous line exercise.  Through the years, I have continued revisiting and developing the subject matter.  And lately, the characters have moved from being soldiers to musicians.  I believe this is because of all the piano playing from Mara and the kids in our house. I look forward to continuing to develop this idea.

Here are a few ceramic sculptures with this theme created in 2019. Towards the end, you will find some old paintings from my BFA show. Do you see the soldiers from the 2000 paintings? I hope you enjoy.