I’m based in San Diego where I’ve been creating kinetic art, mobiles and sculpture since 2005. Motion, actual or implied, is an important component of my work and stainless steel is my main medium of expression. Bring the metal to life … this is my challenge as an artist.

My vocation for 25 years involved large-scale air pollution control systems and industrial equipment, including several patented inventions and participation in the development of innovative technologies now in widespread use around the world.

When I started exploring metal as a means of artistic expression, my impulses were grounded in my early life experiences. My mother was a trained artist who specialized in oil painting; and both parents were antiques collectors and dealers who filled our family home with beautiful and unusual art objects. But most memorably, it was an encounter with a Calder mobile and an indulgent docent at the Guggenheim Museum when I was twelve that I consider the spark that would eventually ignite my work as a kinetic artist.

As I stood before one of Calder’s sculptures, the docent said to me, “Go ahead son, make it move; bring it to life” (this happened in 1964 and is unthinkable today).  Like magic, those words expanded the world of art to include more than objects hanging on walls or sitting on shelves. Make it move; bring it to life. The idea thrilled me as a high-energy boy fascinated by all things mechanical, just as it continues to inspire me as an artist to this day.

To date I’ve had 46 public art installations — 25 are permanent — and my work is in many private collections worldwide (United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Europe, Australia and China).

Thank you to Aaron Martin of Music and Motion Pictures for this profile, with original music by Mike Wojniak.