Commissions 1
Leaf, Pod & Samara
concrete 24 x 30 x 80 ft 1999
commission for the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, TX
$54,000 – cast concrete sculptures and landscaping
Abstracted airborne plant-forms – a pod, a leaf and a winged seed - occupy an atrium at an international airport. Landscaping used shade tolerant native plants.
Nest
stainless steel, steel 14 x 7 x 7 ft 2019
commission for Bernalillo County, NM
$20,000 – stainless steel and steel sculpture on concrete footing.
The sculpture resembles a nest - an image we associate with home, and all that word suggests. We marvel at the nest's functional beauty - even as we inexorably diminish avian habitat.
Handley Train
steel, lighting, acrylic 22 x 2.5 x 2.5 ft 2015
commission for Historic Handley Village, Fort Worth, TX
$55,000 - painted galvanized steel with integral lighting on a concrete pier
Handley - an original Texas Pacific RR Depot - is a strip of brick storefronts from the early 20th Century. The train invokes the end of the steam-train era - late 1930's - and toy trains.
Habitat
media and dimensions variable 2014
commissioned for Scouters Mountain Nature Park in Happy Valley, OR
$23,000 - 5 sculptures of mixed media on benches of site-salvaged fir timber
To champion a theme of habitat creation I magnified colonizing, small, often primitive growth - fungi, moss, lichen - that create, like douglas firs and humans, a dominant biotic cover for a given place and set of conditions. The sculptures oblige us to share space on the benches.
Go There
bronze, concrete 12 x 16 x 9 ft 2011
commission for the Behavioral Health Pavilion /Pima County Psychiatric Hospital in Tucson, AZ
$200,000 – bronze sculpture on concrete pedestal
Go There suggests a roving worm-hole and encourages the relevant community to embark on a transformative journey.
Water-stele
stainless steel, lighting 80 x 72 x 42" 2013
commission for Dallas Fire Dept. Station #50
$35,000 - stainless-steel panels and programmed LED lighting
The panel shapes suggest natural elements - water, or smoke - a horizon, the road. Primary viewing is from an adjacent elevated highway. Station personnel can choose from 8 pre-programmed light cues - cues suggesting various elements, moods or occasions.
Whirl
bronze, concrete 120 x 90 x 80” 2008
commission for the Bath House Cultural Center, White Rock Lake, Dallas, TX
$80,000 – bronze sculpture on concrete pedestal
Whirl combines a two-wheeled cart and a swirl of leaves for a Cultural Center located beside a popular lake and green-belt. The artist worked with neighborhood garden designers on roundabout landscaping.
Overton-Turner-Roberts Memorial
bronze, concrete, glass 17 x 10 x 10 ft 2008
commission for the Turner-Roberts Recreation Center and Overton Elementary School in Austin, TX
$40,000 – bronze sculpture, on bronze stele with routed text and glass mosaic portraits, on a concrete pedestal-bench, in the plaza that joins the recreation center and elementary school.
The Overton-Turner-Roberts Memorial commemorates three deceased leaders of the fight for Civil Rights in Austin, in the second half of the 20th Century. The sculpture abstracts a West African chief's staff combining images of leadership in war and peace - the mace and the pestle.
Glass mosaic portraits by Ryah Christensen
Swoop
steel 7 x 10 x 7 ft 2006
commission for the Graham Student Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL
$28,000 – painted/galvanized steel sculpture
Sited at a busy campus hub, Swoop suggests a fleeting romantic spark between passing bodies.
Guerrero Park - Turtle Plaza
concrete, rubber + 3,400 sq. ft. 2013
One of several integrated designs for the Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park in Austin, TX, including a children’s plaza with turtles, a pavilion and plaza and a memorial grotto.
$110,000 - initial design & construction budget
The theme of the children's plaza was encouraged by turtles in the near-by river and by turtles' mythic resonance among many cultures. The artist collaborated with the Parks Dept. designing this high-use area in 2003-2004.
Guerrero Park - Memorial Grotto
concrete, steel + 800 sq. ft. 2013
One of several integrated designs for the Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park in Austin, TX, including a children’s plaza with turtles, a pavilion and plaza and a memorial grotto.
$110,000 - initial design & construction budget
The memorial grotto honors the significant contributions of Roy G. Guerrero to the Parks Department and Latino community of Austin, TX. The artist collaborated with the Parks Department for two years designing this high-use area of the park.
Guerrero Park - pavilion & plaza
concrete, steel + 3,400 sq. ft. 2013
One of several integrated designs for the Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park in Austin, TX, including a children’s plaza with turtles, a pavilion and plaza and a memorial grotto.
$110,000 - initial design & construction budget
The pavilion design works with the tree canopy. It includes a grid and controls for theatrical lighting. The artist collaborated with the Parks Department for two years designing this high-use area of the park.
Cloud/Rift
concrete & bronze 30 x 18 x 18 ft 2002
commission for the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
$138,000 – fabricated bronze and concrete sculpture
The installation abstracts the grand drama of clouds and landforms characteristic to the Four Corners Region. The topmost cloud-form changes with the sun and eludes visual coherence.The original proposal for a UNM roundabout included native landscaping zoned into areas of relative water usage.
Suit
bronze, concrete 8 x 26 x 11 ft 2002
commission for Dallas Area Rapid Transit – Park Lane Station
$38,000 – bronze sculpture on concrete pedestal/seating
Suit is part figure, part bellows - suggesting an empty jacket, a profound exhalation.
Leaf, Pod & Samara
concrete 24 x 30 x 80 ft 1999
commission for the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Austin, TX
$54,000 – cast concrete sculptures and landscaping
Abstracted airborne plant-forms – a pod, a leaf and a winged seed - occupy an atrium at an international airport. Landscaping used shade tolerant native plants.
Source
bronze 46 x 34 x 33" 1994
commission for Waller Creek Plaza, Austin, TX
$25,000 – bronze sculpture on concrete pedestal/seating
The sculpture - for the City Water & Wastewater Department - abstracts the hydrologic cycle.