RAMS IN THE REDLANDS - Grand Junction, CO

Many people who visit the Colorado National Monument see desert bighorn sheep there. I have seen them many times, yet the experience is still awe-inspiring and majestic each and every time. I wanted to bring a piece of that magical feeling we experience when encountering nature here for drivers to enjoy in the city, against the backdrop of the Monument where these beautiful animals are found. I created these sculptures using salvaged auto parts, tractor grills and other locally sourced metal and junk. One of my favorite things to do with art is to take these bits and pieces of things that time forgot and use them to create something new and beautiful. The herd includes two sparring rams, a mother ewe with her baby lamb, and a wise old ram overlooking the scene from a sculpted rock ledge. The sculptures in this roundabout took over a year to build and barely fit out the door of my shop when they were finished!

BUGLING ELK - Longmont, CO

Witness the elk in motion as he climbs up a rock ledge, stopping at its edge to bellow a bugling call. His musculature is crafted from vintage fenders in a multitude of colors that catch the sunlight, contrasting with rusted steel in rich, warm shades of orange and brown. These vintage fenders come from the height of America's classic car era, with curvatures that easily translate into shoulders and hips when cut to emphasize their natural shapes. The elk's legs and head are sculpted primarily from corrugated steel. Often used to build roofs and fences, corrugated steel consists of slender, repetitive curves which perfectly represent the sinewy muscles of the legs and the details of the rack and face. The rock ledge elevates the elk, adding to his majestic grace and creating a sense of vertical space in the park. The rock is built much like a building - with a sturdy steel framework, sculpted foam insulation board, and a strong substrate of epoxy-dipped shop towels. The finishing layer is sculpted epoxy dyed with concrete dye and textured with sponges and sand for a naturalistic rocky finish.

LEAPING PRONGHORN - Sculpture on loan, location rotates annually

We catch the pronghorn just as he leaps over something, landing delicately on nimble hooves as he overcomes the unseen obstacle. His long and graceful stride remains unbroken as he gazes into the horizon, visualizing the path forward. I really enjoy capturing a moment in time and sculpting a dynamic pose like this. Getting the balance just right was important for this piece because most of the weight is at the top. An active pose can be harder to balance because it captures the way the pronghorn moves, not the way it stands. When you move, your balance shifts from moment to moment, so I had to figure out how to freeze frame this pose as a freestanding piece. I used very thin, lightweight corrugated steel for the hind legs and filled the front legs with concrete. I also used heavier materials like thick chrome bumpers in the center to keep most of the weight over the base. In the legs and body you can see some corrugated roofing, which I love using to create musculature - there are so many different shapes you can get with that curve.