“IN LOVING ARMS”
Years before sculpting this piece, I received a phone call from my cousin. “Got and idea for you, Scott”, he said and continued. “I bet, in the history of the west, there’s been a cowboy that knew nothing about female doctoring and found himself unexpectedly alone with a gal about to give birth. Be it a husband, ranch hand or drifting cowboy. “That’s the concept”, he said, “ now go and create the piece”. In truth, he did 1/2 the work – coming up with a great idea is huge. The idea gestated (no pun intended) for 4 years before my attempt to give it life.
I once heard it said, “If the world collapses, it will be because of badly sculpted bucking horses”. I know most great artists go through quite an internal struggle when deciding to create a piece of art. My first rule of thumb is. “Don’t”. It can quickly evolve into “lockdown” mode. I am getting very tired of seeing works put into bronzes “just because they can have a mold wrapped around the clay image”.
Look closely at works of art you deem to be ‘great’. Is there a unifying link or criteria with each one? Consider: Nobility of concept – Compactness of form – Unity of design – Simplicity of outline.
SCOTT ROGERS
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