Why rust?

Rust is a degradation of material, entropy intruding in a silent but devastating manner.  Oxidation is an inevitability, something that can be held off for a time but cannot be kept forever at bay because it is an essential part of the cycle of life and death.

For me, rust is a practical solution that fits in perfectly with my ideas about a work’s integrity.

I like it because it is honest.  It is direct.

Paint seeks to hide the surface of a sculpture beneath a plastic coating to protect it from the elements.  But no paint is perfect, rust will find its way through the tiniest of cracks and eat the work away from below the shiny coating. Eventually, all painted work will require maintenance, someone else touching the piece.  As much as possible, I design and fabricate sculptures that do not require the hands of anyone beyond myself to maintain them.

By working with rust, in the form of Weathering Steel, I can create work that is direct, honest, and bare.  Utterly exposed to eyes and the elements, it actually endures. By humbly submitting to the inevitability of decay, it can hold entropy back and achieve a purity that would be otherwise impossible.