One of several carpets -- Dimensions .96 X 1.40 m

In 1970 he relocated first to Toronto and soon after to Montreal where he worked at developing ideas which explored the form and nature of mobiles which he marketed to a very narrow selection of dealers in fine modern furniture. This is an interest which has continued to the present.

    In the spring of 1971 he opened a store in the downtown area of Montreal to market his work as a silversmith and produced many fine pieces of silver sculpture which incorporated stones which he cut and polished and a unique style of metalwork that emphasized the process of working with the earth elements of stone and metal and of fire. During this time he originated many new techniques which have since been adopted by others working in the same craft.

    Jack returned to Vancouver in the spring of 1974 where he continued to work with silver and established a studio in the Aldergrove area marketing his products through an agent who distributed them in Vancouver and various cities in the US.

    In 1980 Jack made a major shift in his work putting aside working in silver to explore the fibre arts. He has developed a modern variation of the spinning wheel for home use which is powered by an electric motor and is capable of producing yarn or thread of almost any description from wool or silk. He has also built several looms both for weaving cloth and for knotting carpets and from which he has produced both. The development of patterns is done through the aid of computer graphics but the actual work is done entirely by hand.

    In the last few years he has devoted most of his attention to the nature of the mobile which has become more important as the way people live has changed. The private home has become less common in favour of the condo or apartment with smaller rooms. When one places a painting on a wall it locates that wall in space, limiting it. The mobile, though it uses up space which is not otherwise used, seems to make the room larger and its gentle motion acts as a calming influence. His mobiles are also popular with the movie industry and they have been used in several major productions.

    Jack's most important talents are a finely developed sensitivity to line and colour which manifests through an innate sense of process and mechanics. This allows him to work in many disciplines from the fine arts to diverse crafts. His interest in graphic arts is grounded in an understanding of visual relationships that include typography and layout. Since the introduction of the computer this interest has been expanded to include computer graphics and desktop publishing though his principal activity is sculpture.         BACK