Carved Oak, on Oak Base
2013

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Carved from an oak log found on the street in Brooklyn. The human skull form is part of the Drawn Objects series, which is a sculptural and carving object meditation focused on the essence of the things most vital to human life.

No-mind (Chinese: 無心, pinyin: wuxin; Japanese: mushin; Sanskrit: acitta, acittika, or acintya) is a mental state that is important in Eastern Religions and the Arts. The idea is discussed in classic Zen Buddhist texts as "the experience of an instantaneous severing of thought that occurs in the course of meditative exercise". It is not a total absence of thinking however, instead, it refers to an absence of clinging, attachment to concepts, or being stuck in thought.

This idea eventually influenced other aspects culture and the arts. The effortless state of "no mind" is one which is sought in Buddhist and Taoist Meditation, as well as by artists, craftsmen, performers, and trained martial artists. They also attempt to attain this mental state during everyday activities.

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