“Math was the language I connected with that led me to the arts.”
If you step inside the Atelier art gallery in Warsaw this summer, you might stumble across some beautifully intricate rock sculptures. On the surface, they may seem like just that—sculpted rock, but the artist has fused together art and math to create meaningful pieces of sculpture.
That artist is Adam Boyle, creator of Infinite Series Arts LLC. His path to becoming a full-time artist wasn’t a traditional one, and it all started while pursuing his engineering degree at Ivy Tech Kosciusko County (Warsaw).
“I told myself,” Adam says, “If I subject myself to change, it could be for my own betterment.”
The first step to change
In 2015, Adam had been working as a machinist for nearly twenty years before he decided it was time for something different.
“When I was a teenager, I bulked at the idea of going to college and got into the skilled trades instead. I felt that I didn’t need a piece of paper to say I was smart, and the merit of my work alone would carry me through life. A sad reality is that a lot of people are excluded from promotion and advancement just because of lack of documentation.”
A career loss presented the prime opportunity for Adam to pursue a degree full-time. Having worked with engineers for years, he decided to go down that path himself and chose Ivy Tech Kosciusko County since it was close to home.
“From the moment I stepped inside, I was greeted by the bursar who walked me through the process of getting started and introduced me to a lot of people. It wasn’t like I was just another cog in the machine. A lot of these people have become dear friends.”
He cites his friends and mentors like Tim Keyes, Nic Spangle, Mara Woods, and Lori Roe—all of whom were very supportive of his success. His instructor Cliff Bowman was also a huge mentor when it came to his engineering classes.
His previous career as a machinist helped with the engineering education. Adam already knew how to carry out processes, but now, he understands the why’s behind them.
“I’ve always been an out of the box thinker, but going to college gave me the ability to shift not only my perspective, but my perception of problems.”
Something else that shifted his perspective—the younger students around him. He said it can be weird being closer in age to your professors than other students.
“As a nontraditional student, being surrounded by a different demographic of people gave me a different perspective on things.”
Creating a blueprint
Community was huge for Adam when he began at Ivy Tech. You wouldn’t guess, but he admits to being a hardwired introvert. That’s why he joined Beta Zeta Kappa (BZK), Kosciusko County’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter.
“Since I was taking school seriously, I wanted to immerse myself in that culture and community and find as many people as possible that were aspiring to do as well as they could.”
Through his time here, he went from being BZK’s vice president to president and enjoyed participating in the various initiatives. One of his favorites was a peer-to-peer study group because he was able to meet students who were outside of his classes and get their perspectives on things.
Part of his community was an art history teacher, Ann Bryce Cushing who set the course for his future as an artist. The idea that he was too creative to work in such a linear industry stuck with him through his associate, bachelor’s and his well-paying engineering job, but the icing on the cake was after he attended an art show at Winona Lake.
Sculpting a new career
“I met Wayne Harshberger, a stone mason from Goshen at the Winona Lake Village Art Fair. I chatted with him, and I had the privilege to travel to Goshen every week to apprentice under him and learn the art of stone carving.”
While apprenticing, he went on to pursue a second degree and finally obtained that engineering job he’d worked hard for. For 5 years he was able to advance and lead teams and while it was rewarding both for his mindset and finances, something just didn’t feel right.
Adam came to a crossroads: he could keep working as an engineer or become an artist full-time. Mirroring his college decision, he decided to invest in himself.
At this point, Adam has created scores, nearly hundreds of pieces for his Infinite Series Arts business. Each piece is inspired by an equation or concept, and everything, down to his logo, are all deeply ingrained with philosophy and mathematics.
“When I work on a sculpture, I’m only looking at one line at a time. If you see the sculpture as a plane, then rotate it, you can find a line.”
He explains that his pieces can be seen as something more meaningful, or they can simply be big, shiny rocks. To him, others’ enjoyment of his work is what matters most.
“I try to leave things a little bit more beautiful from when I found them.”
What’s next?
Nothing about Adam’s career trajectory was conventional machinist, engineer, artist and entrepreneur. He says without the striving and struggling, there wouldn’t be anything gratifying about his success.
“Stay open, stay flexible, and surround yourself with people that are smarter, more successful, and kinder.”
Adam currently shows his work at Gallery 02 in Fort Wayne and the LaFontsee Galleries in Grand Rapids. He’s looking to expand further in the future. He also has been invited as a guest lecturer to Indiana Tech where he’s discussed the importance of combining arts and STEM.
Adam is settling into his career with his company. He’s looking to expand his artwork beyond the Midwest and tackle larger commissions and small monuments.
“I think STEM and the humanities temper each other. Art and humanities are tools in our toolbox that allow us to assess a solution.”
As he expands his reach and continues to mold the idea of math and art, he remains hopeful and open-minded for the future.
“I wanna keep building cool stuff. Hopefully it’s big shiny rocks, but if not and life takes a turn, I’ll leave myself open to pursue things I find interesting.”
You can check out Adam’s work by visiting his website, Instagram, or Facebook.
About Ivy Tech Community College
Ivy Tech Community College is Indiana's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana and also serves thousands of students annually online. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering associate degrees, long- and short-term certificate programs, industry certifications, and training that aligns with the needs of the community. The College provides a seamless transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana, as well as out of state, for a more affordable route to a bachelor's degree.
