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Ray "Bones" Patten
"Art serves a purpose that many know but very few understand. For me, it saved my life since childhood. Art was my escape during the abuse, art was my confidant when no one else was there, art was my mentor when I needed to understand... Art was, and still is, the anchor that steadies my mental health during the roughest storms. The need for art, of all kinds, is intrinsic for human development.
"Teaching my kids how to do what I do has been an amazing experience for me. Even my oldest is continually challenging herself now and is successful in her art ventures. I want and need to collaborate with other artists of all kinds. I need new challenges and want to learn more ways people do things. And one of my dreams is to have a multi collaborative piece on display for everyone to experience."
Ray's Story
"All of the work I do is centered around re-use. The bone sculptures I do represent new life in death, the metal work I do is primarily with scrap metal and engine parts and also represents the idea of having value after being discarded, everything has a use it's just up to us to think outside of the box. I didn't study art in the traditional classroom, instead, I never turned down the opportunity to learn more and challenge myself. If I want to do it I will. You learn more outside of your comfort zone."
