"Severed Head on a Pike"

1993. 11 1/2' tall. 140 pounds. Welded metal, steel pipes, and a steel rod.
It took many attempts to finish this piece... i came across many problems in creating the Head.
i finally decided to treat the metal almost as if it were clay... i first "drew" some features with forged and welded metal strips. Then i filled in the gaps with pieces of metal that i heated up and welded on... layer upon layer until i got the look that i wanted. i wanted the Head to look as though it were roughed-up before being severed, so i gave it a broken nose and a fat lip and i cut off one of the ears, then i used welding rods to sew the eyes and mouth shut. Before closing up the Head entirely, i used a cutting torch and cut away some of the underlying layers to reduce the weight. For the top of the pike i used a solid steel rod and came at it with a cutting torch... which both tappered it and created a look of having chunks of brain on the pike. After creating the piece, i then installed it at the main entrance to the Art Dept. the night before prospective art professors were coming to give slide presentations of their work and interviews for various teaching positions. The severed head stood standing for the entire week of interviews. Later i sold it to the owners of the UP & UP bar in downtown Bellingham, WA... and to my knowledge it is still there.