Ribbon sculptures start out with computer simulation using a special software program that I wrote for this purpose. This allows me to figure out what kind of shape can be made from curved sections that will be turned on a lathe. It also allows me to rotate the sculpture and view it from all angles to make sure that the over-all balance of the piece is pleasing.

Each curved section is made from a portion of a segmented bowl turned on a lathe. Individual segments are cut from wood at compound angles, then glued together to form bowls. Often, there are several different sizes of pieces, and there may be several sizes or shapes of bowls. A typical sculpture may have 2 to 4 of these segmented bowls, often with different dimensions and angles.