Quotes by Kirk about just a few of his commissioned pieces

“The things I enjoy making for myself are not always very easy to sell. In fact, they are very difficult most of the time. And as I now work full time as a sculptor, out of necessity I make many different kinds of things.”

“I think I am fortunate that I can work with the figure as well as with the pure abstraction because it allows me to meet the needs of various commission situations. I feel quite good about the work in Cassopolis because it met the particular needs of that situation.

“I have always had a strong interest in the history of religion, and in my studies in college I developed a great respect for the early beginnings of man and his religious connections. So when the opportunity came for me to make the altarpiece at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Sturgis, I was really excited to do it.”

“With Image of the Invisible God, the outdoor relief at the Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo, I thought a lot about religion always being inside the church building. Wouldn’t it be a good idea if somehow ideas could be outside where people could actually walk up and put their hands on the various events in the life of Christ? That’s what I tried to do. The relief has 37 different figures in it and at least nine different scenes from the life of Christ.”