1. Where were you born and where are you from ?

Traverse City, Michigan USA

2. What is your first memory connected to the art world ?

Hearing music

3. Have you always worked in the art/design field ?

Yes

4. What led you to the design creation ?

In hindsight it was most likely when I started making things at a young age. Finger paints, carnival masks, stick forts, sand castles, they were a part of my everyday ideal. I think everyone has the inherent ability to design, we all do it to help make sense of and navigate our surroundings, but I have a passion for it.

5. How would you describe your creative process and it influences ?

In my creative process I aim to focus on intuitive construction methods and spontaneous form building. Finding rhythms that connect and grow each object to realize a balance in the spectrum of metaphor vs. utility.

6. Could you describe a typical day of your work ?

A typical work day begins with coffee and commuting to the studio along with our dog Ren. I prefer to start everyday by working physically with my hands or drawing. I’ve found that the computer is not the best place for me to start the day so I usually put that work off until the afternoon unless its time sensitive. The studio has great natural light in the afternoon so some activities in the studio revolve around that. Music is a part of my entire day and often used as a tool to motivate or distract me during repetitive tasks.

7. Why did you choose the specific materials you work with ?

It didn’t happen all at once. A relationship and understanding are built with the materials and techniques I choose to use. In doing so I’ve observed nuances and made discoveries in the material that revel deeper layers of its mysterious character. A transformation of matter develops into sculptural design form through my hands to create something expressively unique and of myself.

8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?

Achieving the surface finish by heat patina on the metal frames takes special techniques and equipment in the processes. Coloration on the metal correlates to particular temperatures, some colors have a very small range of temperatures to get the correct color and some a much broader range of temperatures. Some things about this process are out of my control which I embrace because it furthers the idea that each piece is completely unique. Also upholstering the spontaneous foam sections has its own set of fabrication challenges.

9. What advices could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works ?

Follow your intuition and work hard.

10. If your works had to belong to a design movement, in which one would you define it ?

Post Industrial

11. What designers have influenced you ?

Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk

12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?

Andrea Branzi, Campana Brothers, Martino Gamper, Bertjan Pot, Max Lamb, Formafantasma, Studio Drift, Chris Schanck, gt2P, among many others.

13. What contemporary artists (in any kind of art) have you been inspired by ?

Nicolas Jaar, Banksy, Alice Dunseath,

14. If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be ?

Spontaneous

15. Is there anything you would like to add ?

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Proust Questionnaire with very short answers (one or a few words) :
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust. Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde, Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)