Mountain Man: (circa 1999)

This was my 4th attempt at a sculpture and as such, I was unaware of what type of wire to use for the armature, hence the disintegration. I was leaving home for the first time, heading to Breckinridge, CO, a mining town. After studying the history of the town, I was inspired to sculpt this after finding a rusty old pickaxe up by an abandoned mine. To me, this sculpture is about taking everything you have on your back and moving forward with grit and determination.

While I was working in a fly shop in Breckinridge, Micheal Adams saw a fish sculpture I had there. He invited me to come and work on this Mountain Man in his studio, Arts Alive.