When we see something cool, we have to share it. Check out this amazing artist who makes sculptures out of driftwood and found objects on the beach.
What would you call your art and how did you get started?
I guess i’d call it organic art. That’s how it comes together, slowly and spontaneously. I use materials that I find out in nature and leave them pretty much as raw as when they were found so the elements at play on each piece of wood or metal really come through.
I made my first pieces a couple years ago. My wife and I had just moved back to San Diego from Big Sur. I had so many amazing adventures up there surfing and hiking the coast and finding things washed in with the waves and tides and I wanted to continue that down here. After collecting some pieces of driftwood at a local beach here in San Diego all these different shapes started to come out with the wood and the pieces just sang themselves together. The whole process is really meditative and just being out in such a wild and elemental space as the sea you come away filled with the same.
What inspires each piece?
I get inspired by so much. Being out in nature, especially in or around the ocean, is a huge inspiration and really opens up my senses to a lot of possibilities. I also have a creative family who is super enthusiastic and supportive.
How long have you been doing this?
I made my first few sculptures a couple of years ago but didn’t really delve in fully until the beginning of this year, and now it has become a full time adventure.
Where can we find your art?
I show every Saturday at the Little Italy “Mercato” between 9am and 2pm and at the La Jolla Open Aire Market Sundays between 9am and 1pm. I also have images of my work on my website.
Do you make custom pieces?
I do make commissioned or custom pieces and really enjoy the challenge of creating something for a specific space and idea someone has in mind.
What is unique about your work?
I work with what I find locally here in San Diego from along the coast. Mainly with wood and metal that have washed around in the tides for some time leaving each piece with its own unique signature. No two pieces are the same. Each sculpture has its own personality that could never be reproduced, like a living being. Its fun to think of them that way, and maybe even relate to them on that level.
Do you practice yoga and/or meditation?
I love doing both and really feel the benefit. I go through phases where I spend a lot of time practicing yoga and then take a break and always notice how much lighter I feel when I’m doing it regularly. Meditation is such a powerful practice as well. My wife and I spent four days in silence and meditation at a retreat center right before getting married in February and we came away so cleansed, energized, and with this amazing sense of possibility. I feel the same way when I’m surfing or creating. It brings a sense of space and conscious awareness to what i’m doing. It also helps get my mind out of the way so things can just flow.
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