The idea for this sculpture gestated nearly a year before I began work on its final form. It began as expressed of frustration, impatience, a physical form encompassing the sensation of slow growth.

The sculpture was originally meant to be six vessels, two shapes inverted and repeated, and surface textured with a Dremel tool. I made a maquette but found the silhouette un-compelling.

The stair-step motif was maintained as an agent of story, but was carried forward through metal I had discarded from previous projects. Experiments of earlier rolling or bending that didn’t meet par felt suitable for a piece expressing how slow progress can feel.

The 10 surfaces of the stair step became canvases; what was once discards became flamboyant linework dividing up the space. This is the first piece I’ve used both three-eighth inch and quarter-inch rod together.

As I built density, pattern and balance married with spontaneity; the work became quieter, more systematic.

Suddenly, in the patterns I was forming, I saw my child-self reflected back at me. The doodles that covered the front and insides of my notebooks throughout school came to life in three-dimensions. Unknowingly, I had re-created my own skin, tattooing the surface with my personal history.

What began as an expression of frustration became such a joyful process. Through the building of this sculpture, I found to trust in the invisible growth, trust that both the peaks and valleys keep us heading forward.