Born Holland Michigan 1946.
Graduated Grand Valley State University – BA, English in 1968.
Completed alternative service as a conscientious objector in Portland Oregon at the University of Oregon Medical School from 1969 –72 and studied art in night classes at Portland State University.
Completed K-12 Art Education Certification at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.
Taught Art at Fig Tree High School in Wollongong, New South Wales Australia - 1974-76.
While teaching art at Kalamazoo Christian High School from 1976-87, completed graduate degrees at Western Michigan University: MA Painting 1980, MFA Sculpture, 1984.
Sculpture Instructor 1985-86 at Western Michigan University.
Professor of art Radford University 1967-2008.
Full time artist 2008-Present.
Bio
I’m an artist in search of beauty, truth, and goodness. Because I lack a preconceived idea of where I am going or how I to get there, or even what it will look like if and when I arrive, my work has been all over the place.
I began trying out some drawing, painting, print making, and jewelry in the 1970s. In the 80s I added sculpture and installations.
My search includes philosophy, theology the earth and the whole human condition, so my practice involves a dialogue with materials and the history of humanity and art.
My audience has been my real world neighbors, community, and Facebook/Instagram followers as well as the art world of galleries and museums. My work with outdoor sculptures and public art began in the 90s and evolved to include social practice and community engagement after 2000. After suddenly becoming legally blind in 2022, I thought my work as an artist had ended. But, soon trees along the road began to speak to me as my wife drove me here and there and I embarked on months of drawing trees with charcoal on paper and then on 6’x4’ canvases. Now, I’m finding new ways to continue all of the above – my work is still all over the place and my current exhibition is taking place all over the New River Valley region where I live.
Statement
At least 300 exhibitions (including installations and community engagement projects) since 1975.
In the United States: Arkansas, Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, New York, Wisconsin, and in Hungary. Poland, and South Korea.