I was visiting Key West and found an old landfill compactor and a trenching machine. I found out who owned them and acquired them for sculpting materials. I sent in a proposal for Sculpture Key West and was accepted. I sold my car to pay for consumables and the tireless help of a few buddies, and we constructed the rooster in six weeks. When we arrived, first, we had to build a bridge crane to lift the chicken parts. I made a deal with the local scrap metal guy and got some old crane parts that came from a navy building. Then we began the two weeks time of disassembling the old machines. Someone saw what we were doing and donated a road grader. Four more weeks of steady work on the giant rooster and it was as complete as it was going to be, there was a deadline for the opening reception, and we made it! The Giant Key West Chicken was a big success and won the Grande Esplanade Award!!

This piece was hard work and took nine hundred hours to complete. It is fitted with a dashboard and seat, hydraulic controls and cylinders. The entire body moves left and right and the beak opens and closes!

This big bird has lived in Key West, Florida for two years, Baltimore, Maryland for three years, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts for the last ten years and will soon be moving to Austin, Texas.