My earlier work was direct carving of black walnut wood and Michigan alabaster, often in an abstract figurative manner. My “Igneous” series was of Michigan alabaster that looked “melted” having very smooth and refined surfaces. (This “melting” theme I later pursued with hand-built earthen clay.) I also created larger welded steel works. Well, raising a family had me doing more photography and less sculpture for some time. And then I discovered the wonders of earthen clay (which was a natural progression from a plasticine type clay I used in car design) at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis and later at Pewabic Pottery in Detroit. I started with “hand building”; creating all manner of unique sculpture styles and themes. After moving to Saint Petersburg, I took a Mural Class at The Morean Clay Center with the aim to somehow work my photographic images with a high-fired clay in a bas-relief style. That has been my most serious focus lately: photographic images taken of the upper Mississippi Valley called the Driftless Region: both landscapes and details of ancient rusting relics of the farm. These are ongoing as are my functional “hammer-formed” bowls and plates. And, I’ve experimented with a few quirky “igneous” forms and a Talon and Tusk or two. I trust you will find them of interest. I am fortunate to have a studio with my wife, Elle Leonard Dean who founded Architectural Ceramics in Sarasota. We have collaborated on several large-scale projects, whereby I contribute my clay modeling talents.