Robert Allison – Columbia, SC
Joan Baliker - Ormond Beach, FL
Paul Baliker – Palm Coast, FL
Kelly Borsheim – Cedar Creek, TX
Susie Chisholm – Savannah, GA
MaryEllen Dohrs – West Palm Beach, FL
Chris Gabriel – Charleston, SC
Bobbe Gentry – Poetry, TX
Lou Greiner - Roanoke, VA
Gary Hughes - Glen Echo, MD
J. Payne Lara – Navasota, TX
Andi Mascareñas – Pine, CO
Diane Mason - Loveland, CO
Jo Pratt - Tequesta, FL
Jane Rankin - Monument, CO
Nick Ryan - Fairview, UT
Scott Shaffer – Grand Junction, CO
Stephen Spears – Fairhope, AL
Richard Thompson – Lubbock, TX
Katherine Van Noorden – Jupiter, FL
Garland Weeks - Lubbock, TX
C.T. Whitehouse – Danville, KY
Andrea Wilkinson - Humble, TX

Click on any of the names of this year's exhibiting sculptors [left] to see a bio and a sample of their art.

To see a listing of the demonstrations and workshops that will take place at this year's Sculpture in the South event, please click the link below.

DEMONSTRATION
Schedule

About the Artist: Robert Allison

    A "safe" career was what he had. With a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Carolina, followed by a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, Robert Allison could be assured that he had a secure, comfortable future. Even during his career as a systems analyst, the lure of sculpture couldn’t be ignored. He continued to develop his sculpting talents in workshops with such internationally known sculptors as Earline Heath King and Michiel Van der Sommen.
    In 1996, he faced the reality that sculpting was too much a part of him to be relegated to "when he had time." He resigned his programming position and took the leap of faith to begin a full-time career in sculpting. His gifts were not ignored and his works are now in both private collections and public places to bring beauty and joy to all who encounter them.
    Working mainly in terra cotta and bronze, he creates realistic pieces that capture the beauty of the human figure, as well as animals at their most majestic or whimsical. His sitting ballerina, in a Degas-like tutu, exudes a most modern confidence. One of the brave sculptors who enjoys portrait sculpture, Mr. Allison thoroughly relishes producing life-size pieces. South Carolina locations featuring his work include Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens, the Cancer Garden at Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital, and Hammond School in Columbia. Bermuda Run Country Club boasts his work in North Carolina.
    Continuing his quest for an ever-higher level of work, he has studied under Lincoln Fox and Eugene Daub, and has achieved the distinction of being accepted for study in Italy this summer at the Florence Academy of Art.
He loves to engage children in learning about sculpture and will lead some "hands-on" demonstrations with children during the upcoming Sculpture in the South event.

About the Artist: Joan Baliker

When she graduated from Chicago’s American Academy of Art in 1949, heading to her first job as a color consultant in a decorating and design studio, she might not have believed that forty years later she would pursue a far different kind of art career. A few years later, as the bride of a military man, she began the journeys that allowed her to experience a great variety of different cultures and artistic forms. Her husband’s postings took them to military bases around the world, enhancing her interest in art. She studied Hawaiian Sumi painting, pastel portraiture, and acrylic and watercolor painting over the years. She also developed an interest in, and respect for, the cultural and religious rituals that were hallmarks of each place the family called home.

After their final stop landed them in Florida, Joan began assisting her son Paul as he built his career in sculpture that soon rose to a national reputation. She adopted clay sculpture as her medium of expression, and fused it with her growing interest in the commonality of cultures.

In 2001, after pursuing religious studies, she became an Interfaith minister, which she describes as "one who follows her own path, but honors the paths of others." She utilizes her bronze sculpture to help us to consider our neighbors and ourselves as "Kindred Spirits" - the name she has selected for her collection of figures of spiritual role models. To date, she has completed representations of Gandhi, Mother Teresa, a Whirling Dervish, a rabbi blowing a shofar, a seated meditator, a Buddhist woman and an African grandmother bathing her young grandchild in the Wodaabe ritual. Still in the process of creation are an American Indian seeking a vision and the Bible’s Miriam, leading her people.

It is her hope that by exhibiting these sculptures as a group, they will become examples of humanity’s common ground and will lead to a greater understanding of the spiritual paths of others.

About the Artist: Paul Baliker

Paul created his first sculpture at the tender age of eight, not dreaming that it would actually become the focus of his life years later. But when he was faced with earning a living in college, he started collecting driftwood from the beaches and rivers and whittling simple images into them. It's a toss-up whether he was more amazed at how much he loved creating the images, or that people would pay him for doing something he loved so much. But once begun, sculpting became his greatest passion and his sole livelihood - and has continued as such for twenty-five years.

A self-taught artist, Paul receives inspiration from Nature, and is likely to be found either fly-fishing or surfing when not absorbed in the process of sculpting. Years of activities near, in or under the water have provided him with an intimate knowledge and profound respect for Nature, especially her aquatic creatures. He hopes that his sculpture inspires others to develop a similar appreciation and respect.

A few years ago, national attention was focused on Baliker's work when an hour-long PBS special, "For the Love of Manatees," was filmed around the creation of "Wellspring," his life-size sculpture of a manatee and calf. The program did a great deal to help the public understand these gentle creatures, and led to an even greater awareness of his talent as a sculptor, and his dedication to increasing the public's understanding of the importance of Man's symbiotic relationship with Nature and the environment.

Baliker's monumental sculpture - some of wood, and others in bronze - can be found in public sculpture gardens, corporate collections, and in private homes across the country. He has been an invited participant in Colorado's "Sculpture in the Park" event, and has had two of his works purchased for permanent public placement in Loveland, Colorado.

A life-size wood sculpture ("Evolution") is in New York's Empire State Building, and other works have been selected for Florida's Daytona International Airport, the Orange County Convention Center, and for sculpture gardens in Michigan and Oklahoma.

About the Artist: Kelly Borsheim
Working mainly in the unforgiving medium of stone, sculptor Kelly Borsheim collaborates with the stone as she turns them into sculptures, patiently studying the patterns of each rock and allowing its unique sculptural shape to emerge. She loves the versatility of alabaster, a material whose form ranges from massive to delicately translucent, and can have a palette of almost infinite color variations. Her works are full of flow and action, growing naturally from the grain and patterns of the stone.

Each stone sculpture is a one-of-a-kind work, and she selects stones with an individual organic shape, rather than from those cut into blocks. Beginning with electric grinders and drills to cut and carve the stone into a rough shape, she then turns to smaller hand tools such as chisels and rasps to bring out the details. With the shaping complete, she then sands each piece by hand in a laborious process, starting with coarse sandpaper and progressing to finer and finer wet-dry sandpaper until the surface is polished to her exacting standards, almost asking to be touched.

She draws inspiration from her life, and it's clear that a tenth-anniversary trip to Hawaii with her husband had a lasting impression on her choice of subject matter. "I love the oceans," she says. "Water, like fire, has the power to calm or destroy. The creatures of the sea are . . . fragile, yet strong. Friendly, yet somehow always at a distance. I am interested in portraying the majesty and the mystery of these exotic creatures."

She also is drawn to the human figure as a subject, and has expanded her medium of choice to include bronze castings. Exhibiting in Colorado and across the state of Texas, she's won numerous awards and has works in private collections in Texas, Colorado, California and Florida.

About the Artist: Susie Chisholm

Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Susie Chisholm grew up in a home that valued artistic expression. With her father an architect, and her mother with a degree in Interior Design, Susie's natural artistic talent was encouraged and developed with private art instruction during her childhood.

Chisholm majored in Graphic Design at the University of Georgia, and used her university training in a variety of jobs after she married her husband, Billy, and moved back to Savannah.

Over the years, her graphic design talents led her into a wide variety of projects that included designing paper bags for a paper company, creating billboard designs, and finally, designing and building exhibits for the Savannah Science Museum. During this time, she also raised three children and managed to find the time to paint watercolors.

In 1996, the path of her artistic career took an abrupt turn. An ad in the Savannah newspaper caught her eye. A portrait sculpture class was being offered, and Chisholm decided that it was worth the $60 fee just to find out what kind of clay to buy and what to do with it. She had always loved sculpture, and had grown up going to Brookgreen Gardens every summer with her grandparents. After she had attended only three Wednesday classes, the instructor left Savannah, but the fascination with sculpture was already imbedded in Chisholm. She was hooked, and checked out every book on sculpture in the Savannah library, learning everything she could about this new medium. Immersing herself in as many aspects of sculpture as possible, she also sought out the experts across the country who shared their expertise with fledgling sculptors. Chisholm has studied with Teena Stern and Don Haugen of Atlanta, Bruno Lucchesi and Jerry Cox in Scottsdale, Arizona, Tuck Langland in Loveland, Colorado, and David Klass at Brookgreen Gardens. She also was accepted into a University of Georgia program in 1997, in which she went to Cortina, Italy, to study sculpture and bronze casting.

Although a relative newcomer to sculpture, her work has been well-received, and has been selected for installation in Chatham County's Main Library and the Savannah Islands YMCA. She currently has a studio at the Art Center in Historic Savannah's City Market, with work also in Savannah's Chroma Gallery.

About the Artist: MaryEllen Dohrs

There is nothing static about this lively artist. MaryEllen Dohrs has forged her own path in the art world and has evolved as a sculptor from a decidedly eclectic educational background.

She says the strength of her terra cotta sculpture is in the "energy expressed," and no one who has seen her works could dispute that statement. Most of her works are "going somewhere" – and with pizzazz. A glimpse of In the Mood (with the cheek-to-cheek couple stepping out briskly and the girl’s swirling skirts revealing ruffled panties) takes you right to the jitterbug era of the forties, whether that was "before your time," or not. She values freedom of movement, freshness and active gestures in her sculpture, and somehow manages to create them with minimal support and without the use of armatures.

It is probable that her education at the Pratt Institute, studying Industrial Design, provided her with the engineering know-how to master those technical problems. But discovering that she was the first female designer of production and show cars at General Motors may tell you even more. Add to that the fact that she is also an inventor, holding the patent on the design concept of the poultry roasting rack, "For the Birds," unfolds more of the eclectic creativity that drives her.

Sports figures are not usually the most common themes for sculptors, but MaryEllen’s basketball players battling for ball possession in "The Wall," will have you hearing the crowd chanting, "Defense! Defense! Defense!"

Even her wildlife images can’t quite sit still, with one of her "Barred Owls" looking alarmed and ready for flight, and the other menacingly ready to take on any intruder.

After you experience her sculpture, you’ll easily understand why the course selected for her to teach at West Palm Beach’s Armory Art Center is "Dynamic Sculpture."

About the Artist: Chris Gabriel

    This young Charleston sculptor has prepared himself well for the future he has chosen, with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and a Master of Fine Arts-Sculpture from East Carolina University. But his being born into an art-loving family may have had as much influence on his becoming a sculptor as his years in a university.
    He had his first introduction to Brookgreen Gardens at age six, and still remembers that as much as he loved the sculpture, he was fascinated with the lizards there. His interest in reptiles and amphibians became intertwined with his exposure to all sorts of art.
    Both Chris' parents had relatives in Europe, and since his father taught gothic architecture, he (as Chris describes it) was "dragged to museums all over Austria." When he visited his mother's family in Italy, he was fortunate to see some of the finest examples of classical sculpture in the world. His mother also painted, and when she took classes at a gallery in Charlotte, Chris frequently accompanied her. Is it any wonder that both he and his brother are now artists?
     He credits his college professor, who provided him the freedom to pursue all types of art, with his eventually finding his way to sculpture. He originally concentrated on human figure drawing, and has taught an adult figure drawing class at the Gibbes Museum of Art. He began creating realistic human figures from clay in graduate school as an escape, and discovered that it was fun and challenging. His path has been directed to sculpture ever since.

About the Artist: Bobbe Gentry

She says she’s been an artist from the time of her first memories – originally working in crayons, of course. Later she evolved into the medium of oil paints, and eventually found her spirit in clay. Her formal studies began at Sam Houston University in Texas, concentrating on painting. Over the years she continued studying with a variety of teachers in Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Arizona and Colorado, and after taking a course in ceramic arts, she developed a passion for clay. That passion, combined with her earlier knowledge developed in drawing and painting, resulted in sculpture becoming her primary focus, with the human figure being her subject of choice.

A realistic sculptor, she creates works that convey spirit and emotion through composition and body language, whether her subject is a lively child or a woman in thought.

Her figures convey thoughts and emotions in the same way that an actor portrays his mood with just a gesture or his body language. For Bobbe, the figure is a never-ending source of inspiration, whether it is draped or undraped, moving or passive, and has the ability to express every range of emotion.

Bobbe has works in galleries in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Her work can be seen in many public installations, including The Longview Museum of Fine arts, The Bosque Conservatory of Fine Art, and Clovis Community College in New Mexico. She teaches workshops across the country and is on permanent staff of the Creative Arts Center of Dallas.

About the Artist: Lou Greiner

A sculpture major at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Lou worked in various mediums including fiberglass, metals, clay and others. She produced her first miniature clay scenes about twenty years ago, and her work has evolved into an intricate delicacy rarely seen in sculpture circles. Her creations are now enclosed in hand blown coverings to protect and enhance each vignette, and visitors marvel at the intricacy of each element.

Over the years she has won many awards and participated in various shows, most recently at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and Florida's renown Miniature Art Society Show. Although she has been commissioned to create pieces featuring a variety of subject matter, the wildlife of the Blue Ridge mountains remains her first love. "I want to bring unnoticed beauty to the viewer", she states. "My miniatures spotlight everyday occurrences in Nature which are often overlooked or unappreciated because of their size."

About the Artist: Gary Hughes

There are those who believe that for art to be "fine," it must be S-E-R-I-O-U-S. One glance at Gary Hughes’ sculpture will change those opinions. Exuding personality, his works frequently are simultaneously smile-provoking and intimate. It’s almost like watching a spoof of ourselves while being assured that it is all in fun, with no malice intended. That’s difficult enough with words, and it’s an even rarer talent that is able to infuse that delicate sensibility into a well-composed three-dimensional image.

As a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, Hughes began his career as an exhibits designer and papier-mâché sculptor. That evolved into his becoming an art director for film production, and later, to the establishment of his own animation company. Hundreds of animated sequences were created for clients in entertainment, education and industry, earning many awards along the way. The National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Institution, NBC and PBS were all recipients of the creative talents of Hughes and his animation staff.

Expanding his interest in sculpture, he began creating limited edition bronzes of his works, which won immediate acceptance in nationally acclaimed shows and exhibitions, and a loyal and proliferating group of collectors. A master at capturing ordinary events and people, Hughes elevates them with humor, originality and quality of form, to "art." His works vary in mood from the droll "Weather Report," to the gracefully serene "A Nice Rat," to a poignant "Can Man."

Commenting on his work, he says, "Taking a lump of clay and transforming it into an object of art that evokes response from a fellow human being is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. It is ultimate communication. The physical act of working with materials is part of the magic. I love pushing shapes and dynamics beyond reality to emphasize or exaggerate a certain character or personality. All elements must then interlock in harmony from all points of view."

Although Gary Hughes was born in South Carolina, he and his family moved "North" when he was just a year old. He presently creates his magic in his Maryland studio near Washington, DC. We welcome him on this return visit to South Carolina.

About the Artist: J. Payne Lara

Born and raised in Navasota, Texas, Payne Lara showed an early interest in drawing, with an exceptional talent at molding and shaping clay figures at a very young age.

Living on a ranch and growing up in a family of cowboys, he had his Western heritage instilled in his heart, and it has certainly played an important role in inspiring his art. A contestant in rodeos across the country, he has competed in bullriding and calf roping, and continues to compete in the team roping event.

The seriousness of his artistic talent became clear in high school, when he won many area and regional art awards, including "Best of Show" at the 1991 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. That honor earned him a scholarship to study at the Cowboy Artists of America Museum in Kerrville, Texas. He studied intensely in two media: oil painting and sculpture, and solidified his determination to become a fine Western artist.

After high school, Payne went on to further his education by attending Sam Houston State University, but found "academic art" a slow, unchallenging and frustrating process. Packing his pick-up truck with his belongings and his sculpting supplies, he left the university in his first year and set out to become a full-time professional artist. Determined to learn the trade first-hand, Payne visited and studied with various well-known professional artists who generously shared their expertise.

His subjects vary from cowboy life to wildlife, but the true passion of his art is the Native American Plains Indian. He spends much of his time learning about the traditional customs and culture of the Sioux. Through his art, Payne hopes to portray the proud people who once lived in total harmony with the earth.
Payne’s art continues to earn him awards and recognition, and he’s been featured in a variety of publications and television programs. His honesty and artistry are evident in works such as his "Lookin’ for Strays," and he is dedicated to fulfilling his goal of becoming a great Western artist.

About the Artist: Andi Mascareñas

Sculpting from intuition and emotion, Andi Mascareñas creates works that honor the culture, traditions and the spirit of the people she captures in clay. She finds energy immersing herself in different cultures, and her face lights up when she describes the magic that occurs when people gather around her when she works in the street: "The language, the smells, and the smiling faces of the children, with all their curiosity and wonderment of life, feed me with inspiration and excitement . . . creating becomes – and is – part of the very moment of that experience." She clearly loves to sculpt on location where she can connect directly with the personalities and individual nuances of the people she encounters.

She has not lost that childhood sense of wonder that filled her at age four, when she first saw impressionist paintings on black-and-white television. Those early images sparked an unquenchable thirst to draw, and set her on the course to be an artist at a remarkable early age.

Educated at Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design, where her interest in sculpture was developed, she continues to draw from the genius and sensitivity of the 19th century masters, and has deftly found her own way to express the spirit of her subjects with a representation, rather than exactness. She finds inspiration in all life experiences translates them, in some form, into her creations.

Although Colorado is her home, she has been selected for exhibitions in locations as far ranging as the Salmagundi Club in New York, the Birmingham (AL) Botanical Gardens, and Auvillar Tarn & Garonne, France. Her sculpture is in collections across North America and Europe.

About the Artist: Diane Mason

Strictly speaking, if you had to classify Diane Mason's sculpture, it would be called "animal sculpture." But that nomenclature is so far removed from what she creates, that it just isn't adequate. Her pieces exude personality. She invariably has people gathered around her, asking why - or how - she chose a particular animal, or the story behind its creation. After being stopped dead in my tracks to appreciate 'Swan Lake,' It Isn't - the Dance of the Blue-footed Booby," I learned that by educational degree, she is an "Ethologist" - one who studies animal behavior. And that clarified what transforms it into "art." Diane Mason doesn't merely master anatomical proficiency, but instills in her works the natural behaviors and personality of each animal, making each one interesting and unique. Her love for each animal is clear, and she makes the viewer more interested and appreciative of her subjects.

She began her artistic career in 1980, experimenting with the medium of scratchboard. She entered her first show in 1982 - and sold out! With that show judged by the curator of art at the Wichita Art Museum, she was selected for a one-woman show at the Museum's sales gallery a year later. Awards followed from the National Wildlife Art Show, and she was commissioned to create the First of State art print (of Sandhill Cranes) for the Kansas Audubon Society in 1985.

In 1992 she ventured into a new realm: sculpting. Taking workshops with nationally recognized sculptors such as Gerald Balciar and David Turner, she diverted her artistic efforts to sculpture, and moved to the foothills of Loveland, Colorado to immerse herself in that "sculptor's paradise." She loves the fact that her collectors are drawn to the "attitudes" of her subjects - and enjoy the fun imbued in them. A recent collector battling breast cancer and chemotherapy told Diane she HAD to have the "Blue-footed Booby" in her house, because it made her feel almost like dancing herself each time she looked at it. That's the power of art!

About the Artist: Jo Pratt

Born and raised on a farm in eastern North Carolina, Jo Pratt grew up with a love for art and dance. She left the farm to expand that love of dance by studying at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, earning a degree in Dance Performance.

After a fulfilling career performing and teaching dance, Jo continued to intertwine her interests in dance and art by creating her own original dolls. Her doll-making led to a desire to re-direct her creativity to a new area, which became her passion: figurative sculpture.

As only someone who has been trained as a dancer can sometimes do, she is able to translate the essence of a dancer’s movement and expression into sculpture that has breathtaking beauty, while portraying dancer’s technique accurately, a frequently missing component in contemporary sculpture. In her works, the language of the body comes alive in three-dimensional reality – the culmination of her creative dream.

Still intensely enthusiastic about sculpting, she maintains studios in Florida and Connecticut and commutes between them with Dan, her husband of forty years.

About the Artist: Jane Rankin

A native of Oklahoma, where her ancestors settled before statehood, Jane Rankin has had the good fortune to travel across the country and across the Atlantic, providing her the opportunity to view the classical sculpture of ancient Greece. Although she had dabbled in art most of her life and appreciated the three-dimensional form, her personal encounters with these ancient depictions stirred an increased interest in this art form, and solidified her resolve to make the creation of sculpture her raison d'être.

She and her family now make Monument, Colorado their home, giving her an excellent location to study with excellent sculptors at the Fechin Institute in Taos, New Mexico, the Scottsdale Artist School in Arizona, and the Loveland Academy of Fine Art in Loveland, Colorado.

She creates sculpture with which people can identify, that also can be a catalyst for reflection and the awakening of fond memories. "I believe that we need beauty in our lives for emotional and social well-being," Rankin states. "My goal is to create work with sensitivity and skill, which has beauty of workmanship, clarity of expression, and integrity of design." There are many who emphatically believe she has done just that, as her awards, public sculpture and commissions will attest.
Her works have been exhibited at Montana's C. M. Russell Museum, the Colorado History Museum, and for ten years, at the Loveland Sculpture Invitational. She's received sculpture awards in New York, Arizona and Colorado, and "Join the Parade," her sculpture of six children creating their own wonderful parade, has been selected for public installation in California, Nebraska, Colorado and North Carolina.

About the Artist: Nick Ryan

You could call Nick a "natural-born" artist, brought up in a family with considerable interest in art, but an artist who didn’t really receive any formal art training until middle age, years after he had completed a fine arts minor in college and taught art in the public school system. Over the years, his artistic interests have evolved from drawing, to watercolors, to culminate in his passion: sculpture.

Born in Chicago and raised in the lake country of northeastern Illinois, Nick clearly has been influenced by the wealth of outdoor experiences he encountered there and in Utah, his home since the mid 1960s. Wildlife themes have dominated his bronze works, but he also has a significant body of figurative pieces, mostly of children. With his own family of ten children to help raise, it does seems a wonder that he ever found the time or the solitude for artistic creativity. His subject matter remains diverse, and he enjoys the freedom to create whatever subject calls to him. A decided asset is the strength of his compositions. From that base, he can create works of intricate detail, or depart into subdued textures and striking abstractions of life forms, though sufficient detail and realism are usually incorporated to make the focal point of his pieces recognizable images.

The teacher in Nick is inseparable from the artist, and he’s likely to be found unlocking the mysteries of three-dimensional art for newcomers to the realm. His proclivity for smaller, mantel and table-top sized bronzes has made it possible for new (or would-be) collectors to be able to purchase his works, allowing them to own an original piece of art for what they might invest for a good quality framed print. But his work has also been chosen for public art, as well. In 1998, his "Genesis of a Thunderbolt" was selected for the Purchase Award by the Loveland Sculpture Invitational Show, and is now part of Loveland, Colorado’s permanent public art collection.

About the Artist: Scott Schaffer

Scott’s inspiration to sculpt began in high school, when he became intrigued with the sculpture of wildlife artist Jim Gilmore. Drawn to the works in Gilmore’s sporting goods store, he examined the sculptures more closely on every visit, wondering if it were possible for him to create that type of art. When his family vacationed in Santa Fe soon after, he found himself surrounded by the creations of artists from all over the world. The spark was ignited for his future career before he even finished high school.

Interested in nature and its complexities from an early age, Scott had developed love and respect for the natural world as he was growing up in Littleton and Alamosa, Colorado. Earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, he thought he would work in a fish hatchery or for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. But a visit to a foundry for a bid to cast his first bronze sculpture, instead led to a job offer, which he quickly accepted. Much like the sculpture apprentices of long ago, he spent the next two year learning every intricate detail of the lost-wax casting and finishing process, and was able to use the facility and tools after hours to cast more of his own works in bronze.

The combination of a strong foundation in animal anatomy and intense, in-depth training in the foundry has provided him with all the tools to create the intricately detailed wildlife sculpture that has become his trademark. Scott states, "I believe that the detail that separates one species from another is Nature’s art. I attempt to portray my subjects in the most realistic fashion possible, so that nothing detracts from the inherent beauty of the animal."

He jokes about his sculpting career as "a hobby that got out of control," but thankfully, no one is trying to rein it in. His public placements include "Jaws," an intimidating life-size alligator purchased by the University of Florida to commemorate their 1996 National Football Championship, and the beautiful mute swan, titled "Maiden Voyage," that was commissioned for Littleton, Colorado’s Historical Museum. Cities from California to Florida have selected his works for public installation, and his brown pelican, "The Port Authority," has just been purchased by the Loveland Sculpture Group to donate to the town of Loveland, Colorado.

About the Artist: Stephen Spears

Growing up as a "military brat," Stephen Spears was fortunate to live in many exotic locations, and his work evidences his experiences in the Orient, among other locales. Creating artwork has always been an important part of his life. He has studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and has participated in workshops with some of today's finest sculptors. A champion of endangered species, Stephen enjoys promoting awareness about animals and their habitats, and his life-long love for animals shines through in his wildlife sculpture.

Spears' medium of choice is bronze, and he speaks of the challenge "of bringing the illusion of movement, a variety of textures, and a feeling of warmth to an essentially cold, still piece of metal," and of his excitement of bringing the metal to life. He strives to bring the viewer the humor and joy he sees in life, and to provide "a glimpse into the soul" of his subjects. His first foray into sculpting children was inspired by Stephen's daughter, and has resulted in a number of commissions for life-size sculpture. The bronze "Joyous Infant" celebrates the excitement a baby exhibits as it masters each new experience, and the life-size bronze "Charlie" (an engaging little boy in summer overalls) is able to hold either a butterfly net or a flag.

He's begun a unique series of bronze reliefs that feature tropical birds, beginning with "End of the Rainbow," with macaws finished in a beautifully glowing patina. "Nuts About You," the next in the series, has recently been released.

Stephen currently lives on the Eastern Shore of Alabama with his wife, daughter and son, and a variety of pets.

About the Artist: Richard Thompson

    Most of Richard Thompson's work involves the depiction of wildlife and the contemporary cowboy. He sculpts from life, feeling that observation of live models results in a more exciting interpretation of the finished product. His sculpture blends accuracy with sensitivity (and frequently with humor) so that each piece does more than simply represent exact anatomy.
     Richard has exhibited nationally in juried shows such as the North American Sculpture Exhibition in Golden Colorado, and the National Sculpture Society Show in New York City. His works have also been included in the prestigious Mountain Oyster Club in Tucson and the Amarillo Art Center in Amarillo, Texas, and are usually seen in the "Sculpture in the Park" show in Loveland, Colorado.
     Thompson is a member and past president of the Texas Cowboy Artists Association, and has been awarded several Gold and Silver medals for sculpture and Gold medals for painting in that organization's annual exhibitions. In the 1989 Texas Cowboy Artists' exhibit, Thompson won Best of Show, the Gold medal for oil painting, and was selected Texas Cowboy Artist-of-the-Year by his peers. He is currently at work on the commissioned life-size sculpture, Pioneer Woman, for a Texas college.

About the Artist: Katherine Van Noorden

A native of the Boston area and a third-generation sculptor, Katherine Van Noorden attended Rollins College and received her BFA in Art Education from Syracuse University. For several years she was head of the Art Department of the Carlisle, Massachusetts School System, before moving to Stratford Connecticut. There she began to pursue her life-long interest in sculpture. She studied with the internationally renowned sculptor, Stanley Bleifeld, in Connecticut and Italy.

When she finally settled in Jupiter, Florida, she combined her love of sculpture and teaching, opening one of the largest state-of-the-art painting and sculpture instructional studios on the East Coast, where she continues to teach, sculpt and exhibit.

Working in clay, stone, wood and adobe, her impressionistic sculptures include figurative, portrait, abstract and wildlife. Her works range from small tabletop pieces to large garden and environmental-size.

VanNoorden’s sculpture, "Koalas," was selected by Rotary International as the gift that was presented to the Premier of Victoria and the Lord Mayor of Melbourne at the Rotary International Convention of 1994 in Melbourne, Australia.

Her bronzes and stone sculptures are in many private collections throughout the continental United States, as well as Hawaii, Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia. Her sculpture has been selected for many public locations, including the City of Le Lamantin on the island of Martinique, which commissioned a fountain sculpture of two life-sized manatees and a young girl. Fourteen of her bronze herons, titled "Upward Wings," can be seen at Sunset Bay in Ballen Isles, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and the Woodfield development in Boca Raton. A six-foot bronze heron, "Wings of Morning," takes flight from the mezzanine of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

About the Artist: Garland Weeks

    "Sculptor of the West," Garland Weeks, is an award-winning member and past president of the Texas Cowboy Artists Association. He calls himself "a representational sculptor of the West, trying to capture the character and the characters of the West, both past and present." He states, "The West, with its unique brand of people and places, is what I know best and love most. Hopefully, my sculpture transmits this love for, and understanding of my chosen subjects." With sculpture in the permanent collection of Buckingham Palace in London, the artist-member-for-life of the prestigious Mountain Oyster Club in Tucson, and membership in the National Academy of Western Art, he's certainly realized that goal.
     Weeks has a degree in agricultural economics and both collegiate and professional rodeo experience, bringing first-hand knowledge of cowboy life to his works. Articulate as well as artistic, Weeks and co-members of the Texas Cowboy Artists Association wrote and illustrated a western art book, The Texas Cowboy. Since the inception of the "Sculpture in the Park" show in 1984, he has shown his bronzes every year at the event in Loveland, Colorado. His artistic merits have also been recognized by his selection for membership in the National Sculpture Society.
     He recently unveiled an over-life-size sculpture of an astronaut for the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, as well as A Doctor's Reward, the half life-size sculpture of a 1930s country doctor receiving a child's hug, for the Texas Medical Association in Austin. A life-size sculpture Old Yeller - the Tale of a Dog and His Boy, has been commissioned and installed at the library in Mason, Texas as a tribute to Fred Gipson, who authored the children's classic, Old Yeller, and was a native of Mason.
     Weeks comes to Summerville after teaching a week-long seminar for sculptors at Brookgreen Gardens, and visitors to Sculpture in the South are fortunate to have the opportunity to experience the incredible talent of this quick-witted Texan.

About the Artist: C.T. Whitehouse

Although Whitehouse has spent most of his career as an art gallery owner/director in Vail, Colorado and Taos, New Mexico, he has received significant national attention and acclaim since shifting his attention to his own creative work.

Born in Denver, he lived in Danville, Kentucky for most of his formative years and considers it his hometown. He's recently returned to Danville, where he has restored an old brick warehouse to create "LightHorse Studios," a unique studio that facilitates the challenges of his new work in bronze.

Inspired to simply "express the nature and the beauty of the material itself," Whitehouse focuses on vessel forms that invite a closer association with the creative process. He intends for viewers to see and touch the bronze, allowing the qualities of the bronze to be enjoyed and appreciated without concern for subject or involved detail. He maintains a close connection to each piece through the dangerous, costly and time-consuming process of casting at the foundry. This includes the application of the patina, where coloration of the bronze occurs through a controlled oxidation and tarnishing achieved by the application of various chemicals in combination with heat. His final step is the polishing of each rim, creating the "halo" signifying the sacred aspect of the art form. The finished pieces are beautifully restrained - a testimony to the thought and time necessary to reach a pure expression.

His works are represented in galleries in Santa Fe, Vail, Carmel, Philadelphia and Washington, and routinely win awards at many of the top arts events in the country. Elected a member of the National Sculpture Guild, he has works that have been chosen for placement in their sculpture garden in Loveland, Colorado. Whitehouse bronzes have been selected for the museum touring exhibit, "Enhancements: Handcrafted Functional Objects," as well as the 2002 "Art in Embassies" program, with his work displayed at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria.

A note from Nancyjean Nettles, Executive Director of Sculpture in the South:
Mr. Whitehouse gave Sculpture in the South a beautiful poster of his work, which was accompanied by a similarly beautiful letter inviting each of us to consciously enjoy, appreciate and support all types of art - and Life, itself. We believe it is an important enough message to reprint:

"This poster of my work is a gift to you. In return, I would like you to help our community become more aware of the importance of the arts -- all arts -- in our lives. Invite someone to go to a play with you -- see that student exhibit -- Go to gallery openings -- Enjoy some live music -- Think, and discuss what pleases you -- Encourage anyone's talent -- Keep fresh flowers on the table - Read something -- Take a class -- Participate -- Give someone some clay, or a brush, or a c.d. -- Ask questions -- Try something you have never done before -- Play with children -- Listen to old people -- Thank the Craftsman -- Thank yourself -- Own some art, don't just decorate with it -- Make some art -- Use the word "create" a lot, then stop talking about it and do it -- Dance more -- Take a trip -- Take a risk -- Laugh -- Cry -- Let the moon inspire you -- Dream -- And when awake, Imagine -- Honor the Artist -- Buy their work -- Value the uniqueness of each individual -- Give thanks for our wealth -- Love the beauty that surrounds us.

Do these things and more. Art is Life. Thank you."

C.T. Whitehouse

About the Artist: Andrea Wilkinson

Always fascinated by animals, Andrea Wilkinson grew up watching them, loving them - and drawing them. Her interest in animals led her to a B.S. in Zoology from Oklahoma State University, with the idea of being able to work in close proximity with them. She now resides in Texas and volunteers at the Houston Zoo, where she educates children about wildlife and conservation. Her venture into sculpting came about almost by accident, despite her continued interest in drawing and oil painting.

She had little exposure to sculpture until she began attending sculpture shows with her sister, sculptor Jane Rankin. After attending the shows, she began seeking out sculpture workshops, and participated in workshops in New Mexico and Arizona. She's studied with Lincoln Fox, Eugene Daub, Dan Ostermiller and Sandy Scott, to each of whom she gives her gratitude for their willingness to share their knowledge and experience with novices thirsty for information.

Her devotion to animals through the years made her choice of subject matter simple: animals. "I love to watch them move," she declares. "They each have a natural grace and rhythm that is unique to their species . . . the way they're put together, and how Nature has modified everything from their bone structure to their coverings (fur, scales, feathers), to the exquisite sharpening of specific senses to create unique animals to fill unique niches. I'm not really trying to send any messages through my art - just trying to convey my own respect, fascination, and joy that we get to share our planet with all these marvelous creatures."

That concentrated focus has enabled her to advance rapidly in her chosen arena of sculpture, and she's already completed a memorial commission of two wrestling lion cubs for the Houston Zoo. She's excited about the future possibilities, including participating in sculpture events with her sister, Jane Rankin.