I’m interested in vernacular cultures, where people lived a little closer to the source of materials and the making of objects for use. And for me, not to rely strictly on the history of art has always been an interesting process, to be looking into areas that we call craft and trades.

The most precise work is generally done by hand, with hand tools. Some people rely on machines for their precision, and my way of working is backwards. I rely on the machines for doing the gross stock removal and then, when it comes to the final refinements and fitting of joints and things, making things work together, I rely more on sharp-edged tools that I push by hand.

Although idea and form are ultimately paramount in my work, so too are chance, accident, and rawness.

I realized it wasn't necessary to work in the traditional methods of carving and casting.

The fire was followed by a period of grieving and then by an incredible lightness, freedom, and mobility.

When I went to Africa I think that was when I really found a way to deal with what I had recently discovered; in two-dimensional terms, at least.

At a certain point, I just put the building and the art impulse together. I decided that building was a legitimate way to make sculpture.