A Favorite Sculpture - by Avard Fairbanks

Several years ago, we were heading home from Cody WY and the Buffalo Bill Art Show in late September through Yellowstone and the truck had injector problems. We found ourselves limping into the Chevy dealer in St Anthony, Idaho. The repairs took a couple days, so we parked the RV outside the dealership and roamed the small city. Near the dealer we found the Verteran' Park with a number of memorials and a very interesting sculpture. We had lunch in the park and spent quite a bit of time walking around the sculpture, talking about how wonderful your eye moved through the monument. It's placement perfect, everything was just right. I took the photo below.

Years later, I was looking at public sculptures in Idaho and did a little research and found out that there are several Doughboy sculptures. There is one near us in Payette Idaho, apparently it was a popular subject and small towns across the US purchased one for their war memorials.  I knew the one in St Anthony's was different, I finally found who the sculptor was  Avard T Fairbanks. See the link for more images of the sculpture Doughboy Sculpture in St Anthony Idaho . A very famous and well studied sculptor.

Avrad's philosophy of art:


"The arts are created for contemplation and edification, the expression of the highest ambitions and the spiritual hope of a people...Through simple harmonies, art can bring understanding and uplift to the downtrodden. It can recognize the finer qualities of men of all stations of life, and cause people to believe their own kind of living is worthwhile, particularly since art ennobles the struggles of life."

"Our kind of work is one dealing primarily with order...To be sure, art must be intellectual and must there have a thoroughgoing terminology, technical-in accord with scientific terms-and philosophical as well. It should be understandable to children, the untutored, as well as the most highly learned and technically trained."

This link will take you to excerpts from the book "Human Proportions for Artist" written by Avard T Fairbanks and Eugene F.Fairbanks. Always an interesting journey.

Just got the book in the mail today. If you are a sculptor this is a great reference book.

Traveling...Sculpting on the Road visits Relative in NC

One of the most rewarding parts of the journey that takes us to art and museum shows across the United States is that it allows us to connect to family. This year we were fortunate enough to see many of our extended family members, especially special are those who are aging aunts, uncles and cousins. This year we took a side trip to visit the oldest relative so far - Seth Rogers at Lee's Chapel in Greensboro NC.

Lee's Chapel

Lee's Chapel Graveyard

Home of Ken's Grandfather's (Walter Newman 1871-1933 Mother's (Caroline Rogers 1851-1931) 

Father Seth Rogers (1822-1816)

There was no map to the grave, service was going on, so we wandered among the headstones. Near the new church we found this marble headstone under a large tree. It seemed to be well cared for and more intricate than most in the graveyard.

According to records, Seth and Kitty Rogers (his wife) lived for over 25 years in Bruce County, Ontario from 1845-1870 and Seth was in North Carolina for 6 years, his wife Kitty was there for 14 years, she rejoined her 2 sons in Gainsborough, Saskatchewan in 1884. The church is Methodist.

Always an interesting journey!

 

Ken Newman Caught on Camera - Behind the Door of an Artist

Behind the Door of an Artist at Galerie Belle Ame - Ken Newman Sculptures 

Special thanks to Randy Miller for catching Ken at the gallery and bringing his passion for sculpting alive.

I bet you have never heard Ken talk so much at one time.

Click on the link above and ENJOY!

6 segments...

Aprons - Sunday's Dress

Sunday's Dress - note the apron! (c)Ken Newman Sculptures

Someone who had seen Sunday's Dress sent me this little story - Enjoy!

I don't think our kids know what an apron is. The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.


It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.


From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids..


And when the weather was cold Grandma wrapped it around her arms.



Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.


From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.


When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.


When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.



It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.


REMEMBER:



Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw. They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that  apron.


I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love... !


Unknown Author

It hit me like a brick after five days and 3,000 miles

After over 3,000 miles (Maryland to Arizona to Idaho) in five days.. It hit me like a brick while heading over the new bridge over Hoover Dam at 9pm on our way to Vegas.

As a young man, I worked for a logging company. Payday was every two weeks. The men worked hard, but played hard and come Monday morning all they had was change in their pockets.

Similar to an artist, after a good weekend show.  After paying the commission, hard costs, travel expenses and booth fees, you head home with a little change in your pockets.

The difference is, they know better and I know better, but the draw of the addiction seems to win out. I admit I am hooked on sculpting. Isn't that the first step to admit your demons.

Only Ken could write this...more from the six weeks on the road.. Stand by.  Debbie

Updated Artist Statement for Ken Newman

Although our journeys are not the same - there are common threads that connect us. I have chosen to share and express through sculpture a lived journey, a small window into a living history. As our world changes daily, a sense of loss emerges, a disconnect to our immediate past and a distancing from nature. The desire to share these observations has become the motivation in creating my art.

As artists, we have a responsibility to capture or interpret current attitudes and their influences, to document and create dialog. Without artists, who visually captures the uniqueness of society? If we don’t interpret and capture it, time has proven it will be gone tomorrow.

There are no political agendas, just a story of reflection on one’s influences and journeys, a show of respect for the simple and subtle rhythms and elements in life as they are in nature.

Sculpting representationally is not a choice but a natural extension of my vision. The forms, shapes and gestures of my sculptures are expressions of internal and external influences, not that of a model or photograph. Somewhat stylized to convey movement and emotion rather than anatomical accuracy. Details are meant as a distraction for the eye, a reaffirmation of the story and not meant to attain perfection. Expressing the impact of subtle elements and textures has opened the creative process to explore the use of different materials to better express these nuances that spark interpretation.

Beauty and symmetry are wonderful, I seem to be drawn to the struggles of life, sometimes difficult to share, but important to embrace. The struggle builds character and perseverance, qualities I admire and inspires insightful sculptural stories for others to explore and contemplate.

Over the years I have enjoyed sculpting in public venues. It encourages an interesting dialog that can have a significant impact on one’s work and thought process. By engaging the viewer to share their influences and cultural insights into the creative process, it helps me understand my own journey. A natural extension of this is the motivation to place work in public venues allowing the dialog to continue.

KEN NEWMAN NSS AFC NSG AAA AA SAA