I started sculpting in the late 80's as a form of stress relief. My day job is a paramedic. The passion and frenzy to create hasn't really evolved until about 8 years ago. It has grown since that time and last year my wife and I decided to take "the business" to a different level. Trust me, as most of you know in the artworld, I'm still working my day job.
I work with concrete and rebar- this medium is a challenge, but also filled with lots of rewards. Being self taught allows me the freedom to create without guidelines and structure. Also a lot of trial and error in the early days. There aren't too many artists working solely with this medium. I recently started with stone carving, another exciting venue.
I've had several commissions, both private and public. Last year I donated a 3 ton piece (9/11 tribute) to the FASNY museum in Hudson NY. I also rotate through a few galleries in the Western New York area. Not making a million dollars.... yet. :) But enough to grow as a business.
The passion and reward is in the creating. I had an art teacher in high school once tell me- "... it matters not what anyone says or feels when they look at a piece of your art - if you like it, can connect to it, then it's beautiful and complete" I take it another step- Art should elicit emotion, good or bad. If a piece of art can do that, then it becomes an added bonus to the artist. People often ask me "What it is I wanted to capture in a piece?" I always say- It doesn't matter what it was I saw or wanted to capture- what is it you see or feel? Art is individualistic - as it should always remain.
