OMC: Tell me a little bit more about how this all got started.

Sheppard: Brett Allen Budsberg and James Allen first came up with the idea of a wearable sculpture fashion show and we kind of took it from there. We formed this group called "process". Process is based around the idea of getting a bunch of people together to have an outlet of something that's not typical. We wanted to take sculpture off the walls and put it on people's bodies, and create an environment to have fun. No one had ever done anything like this. Making great things, and actually modeling it. A metal shirt slash sculpture. The audience loves that. You can't do anything but be in awe and laugh. It's about trying to keep that balance of innocence and spontaneity. It might be an excuse. I don't know what comes first here, the chicken or the egg, but it really works because of the necessity of the no choice in the last minute matter.

The first year we did it we didn't know if anyone was going to even come. Two weeks before the show, we didn't really know what was going on. We started taking down posters because we were worried too many people would show up. We had a really small venue, and 80 people showed up that couldn't get in, so they were all looking in from outside. We were filled to capacity (laughing). That was the first year of it.

That's where a lot of the charm comes from. We went from one day to three days, to simple to more complex from about 140 to 1200 people with all this publicity and media around it. I want to keep the charm, but there's a lot more business involved in it this year. We're in a huge theater and it's not like I can spit at everybody in the room. This year is very important that we know that there's not the simplicity like there was. Submissions are very important as well, deadlines, last minutes. You just have to sit back and try to breathe easy. I started this one earlier than any other and I still don't know what's going to happen. And it all seems to boil down to one person who is making sure everything is glued and sticking together. You have a couple hundred people making it go, but you still need that one person to make it happen.

OMC: Let's shift gears a bit. I heard a rumor that every year at some point you are nude. Is that going to happen again this year?

Sheppard: Actually a goal that has been set between my partner and myself during this event is that I keep my clothes on. So who knows. You never know. We'll see if I follow through.

OMC: How did this whole nude theme start?

Sheppard: The first year we had a very low set, one little fog machine and strobe light with a bunch of balloons to make a wall curtain. But, what happened is that there was never any theme to the show, we pretty much took everything we got and put it together. Some guy was even wrapped in Saran Wrap. It was crazy. Because of the nature of many peoples work you just ended up seeing a lot of bodies.

Lisa, the co-host for the first Wearable Sculpture Fashion Show, and I decided we needed to wear something different, cuz we were the hosts. So I switched clothes with her on stage. We figured because there was so much nudity, it was okay for the hosts to make fun of it. No one really acknowledged that we were naked. I mean, we were the hosts and this was art.

My pieces symbolize stripping or taking off layers, so to speak. The last piece I did talked about being young and innocent. I've always been fascinated with human forms, and the idea of nudity and how it relates to society. You know you start naked and then society says no, and then you spend the rest of your life trying to figure out who you are. Ever since I was younger I always loved performance art. You can video tape it or put it on a wall, but it's essence is a one-time thing. The audience takes with it what it will. You really do it for yourself and hope somehow others will be intrigued, disgusted, start to cry, laugh or whatever. Just be effected.

Some people have said that they've seen me more naked the past three years than most other people they know (laughing). But it's art, you see a lot of bodies. So, let's not hide it, and instead have fun with it. Put 12 people naked on a stage, and after about an hour we wouldn't really give a f**k anymore. So by coming out on stage naked right in the beginning, they'll notice the artwork instead of the naked bodies for the rest of the show.

I'm not an exhibitionist. I don't have a body that could be in a magazine ad. It's not about showing my physique. It's much easier actually being naked in front of a lot of people instead of one. Anyway, I'm not embarrassed or uncomfortable. I know that people are there for art, and that's what I'm doing. I'm uncomfortable at the pool or beach, but not here for some reason.

Thrill seekers will have interesting bodies to look at, but we're focusing on the art.