Haughty, and regal, and loud, the family’s peacocks made a lifelong impression on me.  Throughout my youth, I had watched them strut across the yard, their impossibly long tails flowing like water, sparkling in the light, rippling like the train of a wedding dress.  When I get inspired to tackle a subject, there are days when I see something and I just have to build it, and there came a day when I had to build a peacock.  As I considered the singular tail—decorated with eye-shaped spots—the obvious answer was a pile of flatware connected with steel cable.

It would take 142 forks, 70 spoons, and 71 butter knives to net another People’s Choice Award at the annual Sculpture in the Hills show in Hill City, South Dakota.  Since its debut, this piece has been one of the most-talked-about in the Hybrid series.