I was trained as a sculptor; my BFA and MFA are both in sculpture and up until about 2004 if you asked me what kind of work I made, I’d identify myself as a sculptor first and foremost, even though by that time I was already transitioning to a drawing practice. The drawings I make now started out as working drawings for sculptures. I basically got so interested in mark making that object making became a secondary practice, and then fell off the stage entirely.

I’m fine with that; because I have absolutely no formal 2D training to speak of, there are plenty of challenges left to keep me interested in what I’m doing now. Color, movement, rhythm, scale, all continue to present challenges for me, and I often feel like I’m learning things which should have been quite obvious.

But there are times when I miss making sculpture. The long slog of building something from the ground up, the mess and imperfections of fabrication.

Been thinking about this lately. Not about going back to sculpture - though that’s not out of the running - more about the importance of mess and failure.

Here are some shots from my old studios back on Ainslie Street and Metropolitan Ave, respectively, during the builds for Heaven (2001) and The Shape of the Universe (2004). Heaven was shown at Rome Arts (NYT review by Holland Cotter) and in Paradise/Paradox (review by Tom Moody); The Shape of the Universe was in Plane/Elevation at Art in General in 2004. It was the last major sculpture I made (yet!).