This creative project identifies major conceptual and practical considerations inherent in the production of bronze figurative sculpture. What is considered and how, those considerations are weighted will vary among individuals. Many of these considerations affected my selection of subjects for the studio portion of the project. The paper touches upon considerations which both inhibit and advance a career in art, and have affected both aesthetic and procedural choices.A brief account of foundry procedures is presented. The studio portion of the creative project consists of four sculpted female dancers. The paper addresses a historical context with which each piece may be associated. Two figures exhibit the strong influence of Greek sculpture of the Classical period. The third figure is Impressionist in style. The forth figure has a Cubist influence. / Department of Art

Thesis (M.F.A.)--East Tennessee State University, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 57). Also available full text via Internet at the East Tennessee State University, Dept. of Art and Design web site as a .pdf file requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

This thesis supports the Master of Arts exhibition entitled "Figurative Sculpture and Social Commentary" at the Slocumb Gallery located on the campus of East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, from April 10 - April 14, 2006. This is an exploration of human form in sculpture and the use of representational human form to make comments about society.

Believing that ideas about evolution and genetics are playing an increasing role in popular conceptions of who we are and what it means to be human, I sought ways to express this through my art. In particular I tried to articulate these notions through figurative sculpture. As the role of figurative sculpture in expressing current ideas about being human has declined in the West, I saw this as a challenge. It was the intent of my Masters program to reposition the sculpted body back within contemporary western cultural contexts. For an understanding of those contexts I relied heavily on my own culturally embedded experience and observations. I took as background my readings of evolutionary inspired literature and linked it with my interpretations of the genetic mythologies so prevalent in recent movies. The result was an image of contemporary humans as multifaceted, yet subservient to their genes. These genes appear to be easily manipulated and the product of technological intervention as much as, if not more than, inherited characteristics. As part of developing a sculptural form able to manifest this, I investigated some non-western traditions. I used field trips and residencies to research Buddhist and Hindu sculptures of the body and developed an interest in the spatial and conceptual relationships between those bodies. Through making figurative work in the studio, I came to realise the figures' inadequacy in expressing temporal relationships. As temporal change is a fundamental element of evolution and genetics, I needed to explore this element. The result was a number of series; groups of works that create their own context of relationships. Not all these groups use sculptures of the body but they evoke the notion of bodies, naturally or technologically hybridised, mutating, transforming, evolving and related to each other generationaly through time.

Believing that ideas about evolution and genetics are playing an increasing role in popular conceptions of who we are and what it means to be human, I sought ways to express this through my art. In particular I tried to articulate these notions through figurative sculpture. As the role of figurative sculpture in expressing current ideas about being human has declined in the West, I saw this as a challenge. It was the intent of my Masters program to reposition the sculpted body back within contemporary western cultural contexts. For an understanding of those contexts I relied heavily on my own culturally embedded experience and observations. I took as background my readings of evolutionary inspired literature and linked it with my interpretations of the genetic mythologies so prevalent in recent movies. The result was an image of contemporary humans as multifaceted, yet subservient to their genes. These genes appear to be easily manipulated and the product of technological intervention as much as, if not more than, inherited characteristics. As part of developing a sculptural form able to manifest this, I investigated some non-western traditions. I used field trips and residencies to research Buddhist and Hindu sculptures of the body and developed an interest in the spatial and conceptual relationships between those bodies. Through making figurative work in the studio, I came to realise the figures' inadequacy in expressing temporal relationships. As temporal change is a fundamental element of evolution and genetics, I needed to explore this element. The result was a number of series; groups of works that create their own context of relationships. Not all these groups use sculptures of the body but they evoke the notion of bodies, naturally or technologically hybridised, mutating, transforming, evolving and related to each other generationaly through time.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1980. / Title from title page screen, viewed March 23, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Max Rennels (chair), M.M. Chambers, Jack Hobbs, Ron Halinski, W. Colvin. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-84) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Arts, 1999.

Die Grundform der Skulptur “VOYAGER“ ist der Tetraeder, einer der fünf platonischen Körper. Diese geometrische Figur taucht als Bauprinzip, für das menschliche Auge unsichtbar, in der Natur immer wieder auf. Wir finden es in Elektronenorbitalen, in der Gitterstruktur von Quarzkristallen oder als Molekülstruktur des Methans CH4. Nervenzellen und größere Zellverbände wie Radiolarien, Foraminiferen und andere denkbare Organismen lassen sich mit dieser Form assoziieren. Auch Raumsonden, die unter anderem mit Hilfe der Bionik entwickelt wurden, folgen diesem Bauprinzip. Die Phantasie und die Möglichkeiten sind grenzenlos. - Auf zu neuen Ufern und unbekannten Welten, auch in uns.