Art, for me, has been almost a salvation. When I am working I can take all those pent-up words and emotions and release them. The pleasure the artist derives from working with the different mediums is something that never goes away. At least, it hasn’t for me in 28 years, and I hope it never does. I was born in Hastings, Minnesota in 1962 & grew up most of my life in Lake City, Minnesota, where I still have family.

As a child I was always shy & introverted. When we moved to Lake City, I became even more withdrawn. I started spending long hours in my grandfather’s woodshop and learned the joys of working with my hands. This is also about the time I was introduced to art.

After high school, I went to college in River Falls, Wisconsin. It was there that my art training began in earnest. The teachers there encouraged the study of philosophy, theology, and history. After all an artist with nothing to say isn’t much good. I have always leaned toward expressionism, rough textures & very passionate & dramatic subject matters. Over the years my views and tastes have changed and with maturity I seem to prefer the more subtle and introspective subject matters. I have begun to prefer a happy whisper to an angry scream.

While in college I started working with the human figure in various mediums but after embracing Islam that all stopped. I then was forced by my willingness to submit to the laws forbidding image making & I began to truly grow as an artist as I worked to develop my present artistic style.
Even before Islam, while studying I was encouraged to go back and study the masters from many different cultures. During the course of this study I discovered a shocking revelation, for me. To portray pain and anger is easy; happiness and quiet contentment is far more challenging. The truly great masters can do both; if you don’t believe me study it for yourself it can be very enlightening.

When I first started learning blacksmithing, it was an extension of my use of metals in fine art. As my enthusiasm for the techniques grew, I dove deeper into the historical uses and objects created by the previous generations. My interest in historical blacksmithing culminated in my apprenticeship with a gunsmith where I helped to restore historical fire arms. As I worked with guns from the 18th & 19ty centuries, I was constantly amazed by the skill and precision of the old smiths, who were artists in their own right.

After my apprenticeship; I became involved in historical blacksmithing. But over the years the urge to create new and original work became stronger & stronger. As I worked I began to incorporate modern welding and technology into my metalwork. I also returned to non-functional sculpture and moved away from the traditional crafts.

Today my work includes modern wire-feed welding, but I still make extensive use of forging and traditional hammering & shaping. I believe that in the combination of the old and the new we can take the art of metal-working farther than our forefathers.

My work with Islamic calligraphy has had a profound change in my work. As I said earlier, all my previous work has been image-based. But with the prohibition on images in Islam, it has forced me to rethink and readjust all my previous training and experience. The change has been very exciting. I have been forced to go back to my very early training and relearn the basic rules of composition and balance.

I also have had to change the way I look at the world. Instead of my ideas and concepts coming from my imagination, I am seeing potential artwork all around me. I am flooded with new ideas almost constantly. It is exciting and frustrating at the same time.

As for myself....

I am Muslim American, who tries to make my living by creating halal artwork in the form of sculptures. (the sculpture below is "Allah". It is the 3-dimensional calligraphy of the word, in steel.

This fall it is, insha Allah, my intention to see about being at the ISNA convention as a vendor if not an exhibitor in the Art show they are planning on holding. Make dua for me that it is affordable & that Allah makes it easy for me to travel to the event.

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I embraced Islam as my way of life in 1997 & got married to a fellow convert/revert in 1998.

My wife & I live in eastern South Dakota, where I own a small art studio & gallery.

As with any artist, my work is my focus. But I do have hobbies & outside interests; as well as a necessary "outside job" so as to pay the bills. Insha Allah, someday, I would like to be able to "retire" from outside work, so as to focus on my calligraphy art. Insha Allah, a means will be provided for me to do so.

The pictures are examples of Islamic calligraphy that are 3D, so they are hard to imagine sometimes in this 2D format.

I do produce commissioned (special order) pieces of specific attributes of Allah that someone may wish to have. So, if you would like a specific one of the 99 names of Allah, just let me know. Insha Allah, I can work to accommodate, if such an interest were to arise.

While most calligraphers are working with pen & paper, I work with welding torch & steel, as well as hammer & anvil. I use both modern metalworking techniques & old blacksmithing techniques to create one of a kind pieces.

One of the things that often amazes people is that I do not know how to read Arabic. I know letters, but I don't know the language, so I can't read a sentence. It is something, insha Allah, I create from the heart --since I am drawn to the lineal shape of Arabic & the spiritual meaning of the phrase I work with.

Here are just a few of the words I have worked with:

Allah
Shukran
Al Jabar
Ya Rab
Rab
Ya Allah
Alif La Miim
Bismillah
Fakr
Shukra
Subanullah
Lammah

Some I have made a number of different calligraphy styles with. I believe Ya Rab was the most diversely used word of all I have worked with. Here is an example of it, below. Three of the four are hammered Steel, while the fourth is hammered copper. One of the steel works has wood components, while the others are single metal sculptures.

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I like art, especially Islamic art & abstract art.
Below is an example of some of my own. I'd love to be able to visit regions of the Muslim world where other Muslim artists are showing their work; and be able, insha Allah, to show my work within that genre. I find in the US, the galleries aren't interested in showing modern Islamic art. They seem to only want works that are derogitory to Islamic cultural traditions. I guess that's part of the whole atmosphere these days...ugly is in & the more vulgar the more it seems to be appreciated by the gallery curators. Its a sad statement of the mindset of modern times.

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I like a number of things; some simple & some that just appear to be....
I like sitting under the shade tree in our yard & having coffee & good conversation with friends

I like sunsets

I like strolling through wooded areas taking photographs
I like guns
I like to talk with others who appreciate the craft of gunsmithing
I like the creative process
I like reading
I like to watch good movies
I like historical documentaries
I like good music that lifts up the spirit
I like a warm cup on soup on a cold day
I like modern conveniences like dishwashers, snowblowers & electic drills
I like kicking back in the back yard with the dog (yes I've got a dog) and doing nothing but relaxing

I like working in my sculpture studio

I like good food (especially spicy food)