It is the very process of making a wood sculpture that gives me great pleasure. Taking an idea from its original conception through the planning, development and creation to an end result is very rewarding. Producing a piece of sculpture is similar to creating a puzzle and then solving it.
To begin the creative process, I do a quick exaggerated line drawing showing the work from several views. The motion elements in the drawing become an integral part of the composition, thus giving the sculpture a sense of natural flow. After many years of working in the Industrial Design field, which was either oriented in man-made designs or based on organic shapes in nature, I am finally able to combine my fondness for both into one.
Using natural materials, a sculpture created of different kinds of woods, textures, forms, shapes and the use of negative space, hides nothing, but brings out the very best quality of this old but contemporary material. The creative making process is what I love best about sculpture. Working with these materials has a fascination for me in the way I can bend, shape, cut and carve them into a form, which is natural or unnatural to its original means. Balancing this literal interpretation of the subject matter with the use of abstraction, the sculpture becomes interesting on more than one level.
I hope you enjoy the sculpture I have created.
Email the Artist: johnaschaffner@comcast.net
