Object ID Number: 2016FBJRu1

Object Number: 2016FBJRu1

Notes: One of the things I’m most often asked is “Where do you get your ideas?” My answer is usually my new ideas are inspired by older ones. I’d like to take you through the evolution of the two pieces I’ve submitted for this exhibition. Early in this century I needed some creative block therapy. I went to my scrap pile and grabbed some leftovers and started a series of free form sculptures and vessels. I included some of these in my application images for the 2003 ITE Furniture Fellow. I was accepted and had whole new worlds opened to me by the museums and collections we toured, and by the energy and creativity of the other fellows. A casual remark by a staff member of the Wood Turning Center (WTC), now The Center for Art in Wood, inspired what I feel was the most important ITE piece I participated in. This was “Transitions,” a collaboration with Kevin Burris and Thierry Martenon. When I returned to my solo practice, “Transitions” inspired a series of free-form tables. As my favorite of these approached completion, I set it on my bench and it practically levitated. I thought “Man, that’s the proverbial flying f**k”. Of course I couldn’t use that as the title so I “politened” it to “Sex and Travel.” I was honored to have it included in the Center’s 2005 touring exhibition, Connections, featuring the work of the first ten years of the ITE fellows.