Off-Fall

Painted Steel
62 × 24 × 15 inches
150 lbs.

Off-Fall began almost by accident.

While talking on the phone in my shop, I found myself absentmindedly arranging and welding together small pieces of steel off-fall—the leftover material created when angle iron is cut at 45-degree angles. By the time the conversation ended, I had assembled a small sculpture less than three inches tall. Looking at it, I immediately wondered what it would become if it were enlarged.

The little maquette sat in my studio for several years before I finally decided to bring it to full scale. Recreating it wasn't simply a matter of making it bigger. As scale increases, proportions, balance, and structure all change, presenting an entirely new set of design and engineering challenges.

Although inspired by an ordinary industrial byproduct, Off-Fall became an exploration of geometry, balance, and scale. As viewers move around the sculpture, the repeated forms continually shift in relationship to one another, transforming a simple fabrication remnant into an abstract composition.

A Personal Note

Some ideas arrive when I'm actively searching for them, while others seem to appear on their own. Off-Fall was one of those unexpected discoveries. It reminds me that inspiration often comes from simply paying attention—and recognizing potential in the most ordinary materials.