Artist's Biography

Born 25 July 1986 and raised in beautiful Nevada County of northern California, Tye's artistic abilities were very apparent at a young age. Finding interest in every form of art from drawing and painting to ceramics and even tattooing, he never quite found his niche. He was constantly drawn to permanent forms that would last beyond his time. Raised in a world of classic cars and a vintage era he always had a very different perspective. First sparking a love affair with metal in high school, Tye went on to spend the first part of his young adulthood in the work force where he learned the majority of his metal working skills.

Being artistic his whole life, it wasn't until 2008 that he put his skills to creating metal sculpture. Combining his automotive background with his perfectionist mentality, Tye uses many materials from stainless steel, cold roll mild steel, and copper to automotive paint and driftwood. Smooth curves, deep colors, unique burnishing textures, and bold forms provide each piece with it's own emotion, struggle, accomplishment, or life experience. Among the many techniques of metal fabrication he uses tig welding to provide precision, air hammers to give smooth compound curves, and pneumatic sanders for texturing. In connection with his personality, Tye signs each piece with his family dubbed nick name 'woo.'

Tye's inspiration lies in his everyday life experiences: passion, love, loss, desire, frustration, lust, and despair are among them. Each piece is unique in that no two pieces are alike. He may spend hours even days blank with a muse, but when the idea comes he will work day and night to finish it as he is obsessive and can't seem to tear himself away until everything is complete. Though each piece represents a story for him, he enjoys hearing what the viewer takes from it and how it may relate to their own experiences. He feels the viewer's interpretations are the beauties and pleasures of artistic design.