Charles Ray

I think walking is a little more primal than art-making.

There are parts of us we stylize and present to the world. And there are parts of us that we don't stylize and are just natural. And they don't just hang in a jarring way, hopefully, but there's an interrelationship between them.

Sometimes in a sculpture, it's interesting to me what's stylized and what's natural and how those forms interrelate, as they interrelate in ourselves.

I've always been concerned with my sculpture. The drawings I do at night at home to relax. And for a long time, I just gave them to friends or my wife and didn't really show them.

There's something about a toy to a child where the relationship is real, where the kid is playing, and it's just really amazing.

Work is rich. It can be looked at psychologically or philosophically or personally. The interpretive nature of work is different than the work itself. The interpretation of work isn't the key to understanding it. I'm worried about making a good sculpture. I'm not so worried about the interpretation of it.

Many of my sculptures take a long time to make.

We're all equal in sleep.

The homeless person or the schizophrenic person talking to themselves are disassociated from their immediate environment. They're off in a fantasy, and it's very similar to what happens on a cell phone.

I do a lot of thinking about my work while I'm walking. More in the early morning when I'm trekking in the mountains. When I'm walking in the city, I think more about people around me - my brothers, my wife, some business situation, commitments.

I've had fantasies in the past of walking across America or some great distance, but it's such a commitment of time that it's stopped me.

Sculpture and seams are like boxers and broken noses: They go hand in hand.

I've made a lifelong attempt to involve myself deeper and deeper in my medium.

Boat building is intellectual - everything has a reason. In sculpture, it has a direction.

I wasn't the class nerd, but I was weird. I could tell long stories and be funny, but I couldn't do sports. And I was always terrified of being held back.

I love art, but I've never bought an artwork or even considered it.

The social aspect of being an artist has always made me uncomfortable.

Being in a room full of my art makes me incredibly nervous because the work always gets damaged when it's shown, and I hate my openings.

'The Pink Lady' rides the Freudian wave. You know, the big lady, the relationship to mom - those things are obviously part of that piece.

As soon as you step into the water, you are part of the food chain; you're part of the wilderness. That's why I like solo sailing. You can be macho, but at least you can be macho on your own.

My dad bought us boats. I think he thought sailing was a wholesome way to spend time.

I work very slowly.