The Celebration of Fine Art - A Writer's Words

Ken Newman Sculptures

You can almost always tell when Ken is working. You can hear his hammer and chisel throughout the tents at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Without the noise to make it seem real, you might mistake Ken’s work as ancient, Druidic magic.

Although he works with bronze, too, you can tell Ken’s a woodsman.  He’s always busy with his hands, feeling and seeing beyond the known and revealing the unseen in the wood. He’s a wood whisperer of sorts.

Trying to describe what Ken does with or to the wood is somewhat difficult. He exposes the art in the wood.  He liberates the story that lies within the wood. He removed what is not necessary to reveal what is vital. Actually, describing his work is easy; realizing how much time, energy, patience, commitment, and persistence he invests into each piece suggests the true meaning of the man. He’s one of a kind.

Precipitous Drop - In Progress

Ken finds pieces of wood. He stacks them, stores them and sometimes turns them upside down. Ken has X-ray vision; he sees what no one else can see. With a spooky intuition developed through years of experience, Ken knows what the inside grain will reveal. Of course, wood work being what it is, he also knows how to adopt, adapt and improve his designs as he works. After all, that’s the secret of life, isn’t it?

Precipitous Drop - Completed

When he is finished – after months of work, hundreds of hours, and untold interruptions – Ken uses natural oils to tenderly heighten the beauty of the wood in order to direct the observer’s eye to the intricate maze of action and meaning. Whether it’s a fluffy bunny hiding behind a prickly cactus or an otter darting to the surface to snatch its supper, Ken’s sculptures are truly awe-inspiring.

Certainly, you realize when you see the sculptures that Ken’s talent is extremely rare; but the message of his work resonates deeply, too; No matter who a person is, no matter the person’s shape or size or gender or color, true beauty lies within. No matter what other people think about the “outside” what lies “inside” is what truly matters.

1.75 Sq Ft of Forest Floor

With Ken and his partner (his official storyteller) who can recount, almost to the hour, the how and when and where and why of each sculpture, its evolution from forest floor to mirrored stand. She surrounds him with an aura of sorts, like a wood nymph guarding a priest performing sacred rites in a secret grove.

In addition, Ken’s retriever seems quite satisfied as his master uses the most ancient and simple tools to liberate the art from the wood. Undoubtedly, a game of “catch the stick” ends differently at Ken’s house. To Ken, a convivial conservationist no stick is simple a piece of wood. It has potential, full of rich art.

By John Pinkerton, Arizona

Thank you John for putting your words on paper... we look forward to seeing you at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona.