Anybody interested? Well, no ...

["George Graham" <georgergraham@zzzzzzzzzzz>]

Dulce,
well, now you've gone and done it! Committed a major social blunder, almost
as bad as a turd in the punch bowl. Mentioning bronze on a stone SCULPTURE
site! I'm shocked,,,,truly shocked!
Over the years the subject has drifted way off the topic, or is it the other
way around. No harm was done. I like your energy and passion. Keep tossing
out ideas . Bill Knight has been introducing new and interesting sites that
have sparked some of the most contentious debates to date. I think the whole
cnc vs handcarved stone started with one of his web sites. If you see
something you like, please share it with us!
I've been to the Laguna Beach gallery where McDonald has his work. One of my
family in that area has bought one of his small pieces. A ballerina dancing,
about 3 feet tall. McDonald's work is very, very good. He doing traditional
figurative work that makes no apologies. A lot of people with money , that
love art, like to have his work in their homes.
One major impression I got from McDonald's gallery and web site is that he
is a very,,, very smart business man. He caters to people who are as
interested in their money as much as his artwork. One of the selling points
is that his work increases in value. So his work to some, is as much an
investment as it is a work of fine, original classical art. Thinking of art
as an investment leaves me cold, but a lot of people are more able to
justify spending thousands of dollars on art, if they think they are
increasing their networth at the same time. After all , they could be
socking their money away in cd's earning 6%. Who knows what the future value
of art will be, but some customers need to think that way.
On to the subject of doing figurative stone sculpture. I was forced into it,
kicking and screaming. Well not maybe that bad, but I shied away from it
until a client waved cash money under my nose if I would carve some nude
pieces. Welllll, I started slowly, cautiously, being afraid to make a
mistake. This was all self inflicted insecurity and caution. The client
didn't care about perfection, that was my problem. Check out my web site and
you can see my progress. What I've taken away from figurative stone carving
is that within the process of subtractive, direct stone carving , there is a
huge area open to interpretation and flexibility. Our bodies are not
perfectly balanced. Perfection is just a temporary illusion. I've learned to
trust the process, and not sweat the details. The final details always tell
you where they must go. Just wait for it!
I'm at the place now where abstract , figurative, realistic, etc, overlap to
the point where I can't see one without the other. They are just words that
all lead to the core reason for doing stone carving. Using stone to create
symbols that speak to our fellow human being. The sculptor chooses the
material and subject and then does his best.
See what you started Dulce!
McDonald's bs sales pitch about going from a golf swing to the cosmos is
probably meant to maintain the image of the dreaming artist in the mind of
his investors.
This kind of talk would a hell of a lot better sitting around a fire on the
beach with a cold one in my hand , in the company of fellow stone carvers.
You know , the sergeant major is in the center of the North America, just a
short way from the beach. Hey you never know.
Back to reality, gotta go to work.
George Graham
http://www.grahamsculpturestudio.com