Randy Walker he/him/his randywalkerarts@gmail.com https://randywalkerarts.com/ BIO After completing formal training in architecture and working within the field in the US and abroad, my interest in sculptural object-making blossomed into a full-time public art practice which has been my primary focus for the last fifteen years. My art, originally rooted in studio-scale found three-dimensional sculptural objects, is preoccupied with existing forms, histories, and contexts and their translation into large-scale temporary and permanent public installations, which I have completed around the country. TEACHING PHILOSOPHY & MENTORSHIP I am interested in finding the spark, or the source, that enables an expansive exploration of ideas. Through my years grappling with my own creative process and outside critique, I have found that a magical wellspring lies first and foremost in clearing one’s mind of preconceptions and judgements. The openness- and willingness to be unattached- to ideas as they form and dissolve is absolutely necessary to maintaining a meaningful creative dialogue with one’s work. As a teacher or mentor, I am most excited about identifying reasons that answer to “why not” instead of “why”. Critique for its own sake has a way of narrowing, limiting and eventually, completely arresting the creative process. I wish to act as a guidepost to students, helping them explore their ideas in the infinitely vast expanse of creative action. When ideas are explored without bias and with sincerity, they usually reveal more than any preconceived concept could ever hint at.