Dog Skull Monitor

                 Created in 2018 from discarded objects found on the streets of Youngstown, Ohio

                 Large dog skull. Weight and balance mechanism. Vintage computer monitor shell. Approximately 18x18x24 inches.

                 After a tap on the snout, the skull and jaw will move and bob for over 3 minutes. 

 Most of my life was lived prior to the onset of high technology and the Internet. After spending the last 15 years involved with these technologies, I have become deeply disenchanted with them. Their promises are hollow and they have created a deep sense of unease in me. 

 Some of my time is spent stripping metals from these discarded technologies and selling them as scrap for extra money. There is something so depressing about the pile of cracked plastic, broken glass and mangled motherboards. At times I feel as if I am butchering the remains of a strange biotech animal.

 

The Studio

 My studio is located in downtown Youngstown, Ohio. It is about 900 square feet. Here I create large oil paintings and sculpture, operate a wood shop and wood fabricating area, and store finished work, supplies and tools. I recently acquired thousands of board feet of high quality tiger maple and cherry wood from a large woodworking facility in my neighborhood that went out of business. The wood is very expensive if purchased commercially, and to my good fortune, I found it in a dumpster.

The wood shop is a sealed, dedicated area of my studio that houses a professional grade Delta table saw, a professional grade DeWalt compound miter saw, a professional grade dust collector,  a variety of woodworking tools, and a significant amount of high quality tiger maple and cherry wood.

 The clamping area is where I glue and clamp the cut wood for frame making.

The staining area is where I create and apply a variety of custom made stains to the wood.

The framing area is where the mitered custom frame mouldings are assembled using corner clamps.