Curious About Art

Create art. Move people.

Sculptures | Mixed Media | Illustration | Cartooning

My goal

Create art that moves people. It's a simple philosophy. I want my clients to feel the same joy they had when they first saw the piece I created for them every time they look at it. And for them to want to share that feeling with their friends, family and neighbors.
For my art in public spaces, I want the design to move the passersby, not merely be a backdrop. I want to make them feel something visceral, to stop and interact with the pieces, when possible, and to keep thinking about them after they have moved on.

African Door Cabinet

My client used to live in Ghana, where she purchased several doors at a market. The doors used to be on village rondelles (round huts) and had family patterns carved into them. She asked me to make her a cabinet for her home office and incorporate the rondelle door into the door of the cabinet.

I was thrilled at this challenge, as the original door was carved from a single block of wood of uneven thickness which twisted at an angle. I completed the commission, working the stylized patterns of the door into the metal body of the cabinet.

The wooden door was so heavy, though, that I had to add a 60 pound steel shelf at the bottom to act as a counter weight, so that the cabinet did not topple over when the door was fully open.

Twisted Pine

My clients -- from Canada -- have been living in the United States for the past few years. When they knew they were moving back to Canada in August, they approached me to create a piece of art that would remind them of their time in Colorado, something that was similar to some of my previous "flagstone and steel" pieces. They asked that I incorporate the image of a twisted pine growing from a crack in the rocks.

I came up with this design, titled appropriately, "Twisted Pine."

The frame holding the tree is sandwiched between two Colorado sandstone flagstones. And it took nearly 130 feet of coiled 1/8 inch steel round to make the body of the tree. The clumps of needles are hand-cut flat steel. Patina and enamel paint for the color.

The Piper series

Overcoming an obstacle.
A new direction.
Taking an adventure.
A desire that needs fulfilling.
Looking for love.
Gazing beyond the horizon.
Searching for something lost.
A journey.
Bravely climbing.

These are the stories of my new series of sculptures I call "Piper."

Piper is represented as a person on stilts, taking that step, climbing over that obstacle, with their heart bare to the world.

Vulnerable but strong.

Intrepid and determined.

Piper and Piper II - steel sculpture with patina.

Custom projects welcome

Do you have an idea for a piece?
Want a piece of art for a specific location or with a theme that has special meaning in your life?
Almost anything is possible, we just need to talk through the details.

I will work with you or your landscape designer to make your vision a reality.

Most mediums

I have worked in bronze, steel, concrete, plaster, acrylics, ceramic, pencil, wood, ink and digital formats. The medium I choose is dependent upon the project's final goal and doesn't always reflect a specific discipline.

Featured

"Food Fight"
My Watchmen-themed piece in the 2016 inaugural "Make It So" fan art exhibit at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts.

Art for good causes.
I'm always willing to help out nonprofit organizations, when possible.

In the works.
(Details coming soon.)

Thom Phelps