For “Art from Ashes” many of the elements used were extremely dirty and greasy because of their original use (transmissions and engines). I ran into difficulty trying to degrease some of these pieces, so in desperation, I resorted to burning them. I loved the experience of burning my art and began taking photographs of the process. Many of the works in this series still have the visual remains of this method.

The creation of this series was very difficult for me. I was using materials that I’ve rarely if ever used (rusty steel and transmission / engine parts. While working with these new shapes and materials, I still wanted to create finished works that reflected my artistic vision. To do this, I had to create an entirely New Vision for myself.

Using these new materials posed a number of obstacles. Rusty metal is not weldable; neither is greasy, dirty metal. To add to the difficulty, much of the steel was ‘found’ and had many sharp, dangerous edges.

This last fact explains why most of these new works have polished edges. The dirty could be washed off, but the grease was my most ardent foe all during this process. To combat this, I resorted to misting on a light coating of gasoline and torching both individual elements and completed sculptures.

There was something extremely satisfying about BURNING my own art. Perhaps it was an outlet for my  naturally occurring artistic angst and frustrations. I took photographs of this process and it will become a future show.