This is an image I made in 2016. I found a barrel full of these beautiful large, rusty washers and was entranced by the beauty of the simple form, the irregular rust patterns, and the repetition.

Washers
2018

30”x20”
Digital print on aluminum panel, edition of 10

I started collecting some of the rusted objects from my photographs, and eventually my 2D art emerged into 3D. In 2018 I made this assemblage from unfinished maple and some of those very same washers I had photographed 2 years before.

3 Washers
2018

5”x11”x2”
Maple and rusted steel washers

As my Wood+Rust series grew, I returned a few more times to the large washers I had photographed earlier. This piece added verticality to the elements of repetition, rust, simple forms, and contrasting materials.

Leaning Washers
2019

72”x4”x1”
Maple, rusted steel washers, and cork

When I started working with old keys, I was most drawn to the rusted or patinated keys that broadcast their age and use. Then I started constructing cages for them of wood and rusted steel, to bring together the Wood+Rust series with the Cage+Keys series.

Tiny Constructed Cage
2020

7”x6”x6”
Rusted steel, maple, vintage keys

As I explored containers for keys, I was led back to repetition and verticality as themes.

Keys in Cubbies
2020

74”x4”x2”
Maple and vintage keys

And then the repetition of old keys led me back to the vertical format I had explored with the washers.

Stick with me to find out what happens next! (I’d sure like to know.)

Key Tower
2021

72”x3.5”x1”
Maple, vintage keys, and cork