The chess sets

Chess sets are one of the things John lists when he describes his metal art, beside sculptures, wall hangings, steampunk creations and fish. His old site gave them a page of their own, photographs only.

The pieces are tall and rough. Their surfaces twist and fold, so a rook or a bishop reads at first as a column of crumpled steel, with the crown or cross at the top giving it away. On some boards the two sides are finished differently, one dark and one bright or bronze. The boards are squares of light and dark in heavy frames edged with weld beads, rivets and strap brackets. One set has a wooden box with a steel latch and handles. Another is shown on a small round table between two red chairs, with a shield and spear on the wall above.

In The Artist and the Algorithm John describes how he judges a piece while he is building it:

I’ll stand back and look at it for a split second and see how it feels. It could be a yes… or nope. I’ve gotta fix that. So my art is built on a feeling… or intuition.

In 2016 John entered a chess set in the show at The Gallery at Dove Mountain, beside Serenity. In his words, "my chess set received an honorable mention." That same year a chess set and its wooden box sat on a table in his gem show booth.