I was inspired to create this piece for the exhibition in celebration of North House and it’s founder, Mark Hansen, whom I met in a row boat several years ago in the bay on Lake Superior.

I enjoy spending time in the country and when winter lays its blanket of snow the light changes completely. I created INTEGRATION for Centennial Library with a summer scene and I wondered how it would fare under a blanket of snow and with the greys of winter. Winter’s Twilight is my answer. Comes equipped to hang on the wall.

While workshopping plans for the mini-golf course hole Catchin’ a Wave I made a smaller table top version. I realized that it would be a fun piece on its own, but decided to substitute ping pong balls in place of golf balls. I made three versions, two of which are in private collections. Riding a Ray of Sunshine is the last of its kind.

Birdhouse is a whimsical take on its name. As the viewer turns the crank a cowbird chick greedily gobbles down everything its frantic adopted yellow finch parents can feed it; a woodpecker climbs up the wall; and blue birds fly overhead. Created in 2011 with the help of a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grant, Birdhouse has been on display in several public venues including: Landmark Center (St. Paul), Science Museum of Minnesota, and in 2019 was part of an eight month-long automata exhibition at the Science Museum Oklahoma. Birdhouse is looking for a permanent home!

My intentions with The Nose Knows was to create movement in a figure 8. It took some experimentation and some sleep, as I woke up one morning with the mechanism clearly in my mind. Originally, my plan was to conceal the mechanism, but upon seeing how interesting it is I replaced the top with a glass surface instead.

Team Work is an exercise in repetition. Figures make wave as they reach up and push down levers.

Wake up and Smell the Roses humorously reminds up to take time to smell the roses while we still can. It also doubles as a cremation urn for when the time comes that we can no longer smell the roses.