Artist J.David Carlson teaches art at Azusa Pacific University in California. A native Californian, Carlson creates contemporary "playscapes" and "toys" as works of art, using found materials and other artifacts "otherwise destined for the trash." He claims that his inspiration comes from play during his own childhood as well as from the kinds of urban and suburban changes he's witnessed during his lifetime. Carlson contributed several works to the Whimsical Art Trail exhibition, a changing exhibit of playful and whimsical works of art, at The Strong.