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I have made a wide range of objects from jewelry, vases, medallions, bowls, and cups to birdcages, bollards, gates and doors. The objects that I make tell a story, relate a concept or record an observation. The subjects that interest me seem to remain constant: nature, science theories and discoveries, the beauty of form, materials and detail. The visual and physical elements in the immediate environment are starting points. The process of making an object is pure pleasure. I strive for excellent craftsmanship and the ability to distill a discovery of seeing or perceiving.
For several years, I have enjoyed making presentation pieces for various organizations. I designed and had cast fifty Owens 50th Benchmark Medallions for the fiftieth anniversary of the College of Environment and Design, University of Georgia, 2021. I designed and had cast the Founders Memorial Garden Sundial for the University of Georgia, 2015. I designed and had cast The Presidents Medal which has been awarded annually by the President of the University of Georgia from 2014 to 2023.
I am honored to have had the opportunity to make presentation pieces for The Delta Prize for Global Understanding award, sponsored by Delta Airlines and the University of Georgia, which was given annually to a person who promotes world peace and understanding.
Gary Noffke and I designed and made an edition of eleven of these awards. Recipients: President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center; Anglican Archbishop, South African Desmond M. Tutu; President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev; former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Mrs. Sadako Ogata; last President of Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel; first president of the Pan-African Parliament, Ambassador Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella; businessman/philanthropist, Ted Turner; former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela; former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari; former Vice-President of Egypt, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei; Canadian Senator/Lieutenant-General and founder of the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace, and Security, Roméo A. Dallaire.
I have made seventeen presentation pieces for the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. These Pinnacle Awards were given to outstanding alumni and donors of the College — 2001 to 2016.
The Manufacturer of the Year award was presented to three outstanding manufacturing businesses in the State of Georgia each year. I designed and made 35 sculptures from 2001 to 2011.
I designed and made twenty-five John D. Kehoe Scholarship medallions which were given each year (1997-2012) to a student studying in Italy with the University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program.
For several years, I worked on a body of work examining the issues involved with disease, illness and the roles of science, religion, hope and chance in the search for cures.
Description of Dante’s Divine Comedy; Climb to Utopia — This vessel was inspired by the 14th-century allegorical poem, by Dante Alighieri, about sin and redemption. In the poem, Dante visits Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. At the base of the vessel, I have represented his time in purgatory by three of the terraces of the seven-story mountain that he climbs as he ascends toward purification. I chose three terraces because three is a highly symbolic and recurring number in the entire poem. The red coral represents the process of purification, and the brass spiral signifies the rapid ascent into the divine cosmos of Heaven. Heaven is represented in the cup of the vessel by the plants and flowers of the Garden of Eden, with the sun and stars suggested by the diamonds and yellow sapphires set into the silver. The image of Dante, as it appears on the Italian Euro, is embedded into the organic texture of the surface of the cup. sterling silver, 18k gold, brass, coral, diamonds, sapphires; 6.25” x 2.5” x 1.75”
email: bimann2@hotmail.com