♪ ♪ ELSE WAS TOTALLY WORTHLESS,HING- EXCEPT FOR MAKING ART, AND THAT'S ALL THAT I HAVE DONE SINCE THEN.

WHEN I WAS A YOUNG PERSON, I WANTED TO BE A PAINTER.

AND THE TROUBLE IS I START PAINTING AND I WOULD GET SO EXCITED ABOUT IT THAT I WOULD GO CRAZY, AND I WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, LOSE CONTROL OF WHAT I WAS DOING.

I REALLY JUST WOULD GET SO EXCITED, BUT THE CARVING WAS GREAT.

BECAUSE IT TOOK PHYSICAL STRENGTH, AND IT SLOWED ME DOWN ENOUGH.

THERE WAS A POINT THAT I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO LOSE THE HOUSE.

GLEN AND I WERE GOING TO LOSE THE HOUSE.

I COULDN'T MAKE PAYMENTS BUT AT THAT POINT I HAD AN INCREDIBLE DREAM, AND IN THE DREAM, I WAS TOLD BY THIS, BY THE PERSON IN THE DREAM THAT I WOULD BE AN INCREDIBLY WELL-KNOWN AND FAMOUS ARTIST, WOOD CARVER, AND I HAD ENOUGH FAITH IN THAT DREAM TO GO AHEAD AND PURSUE THAT WITHOUT REGARD TO MAKING A LIVING.

EVERYTHING WORKED OUT FINE.

I WOULD CHOOSE TO DO THINGS THAT I LIKE, AND I LIKE DOGS, AND I LIKE CATS.

I LIKE FISH.

I LIKE THEM VISUALLY, I LIKE THE IDEA OF THEM.

THEY ARE YOUR BUDDIES, AND BUT, I FEEL THAT ARTISTS ARE REALLY RESPONDING TO THEIR CULTURE.

WE DO THINGS.

WE DON'T KNOW WHY WE DO THEM.

AND I CAN INTELLECTUALIZE AND SAY YES, I DO THIS BECAUSE OF THIS REASON AND THAT REASON, AND I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S NECESSARILY TRUE, OR HONEST.

I DO THEM BECAUSE I GOT TO DO THEM.

AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I HAVE TO DO THEM.

IF YOU GIVE ME THE CHOICE BETWEEN DOING SOMETHING SERIOUS AND SOMETHING HUMOROUS, I WILL ALWAYS GO FOR THE HUMOROUS.

WHAT IT IS, BASICALLY, THE CHOICE OF HOW I WANT TO SPEND MY LIFE.

LIFE HAS A LOT OF PROBLEMS, AND THERE IS A LOT OF -- EVERYBODY HAS SOME SERIOUS PROBLEMS, AND WE ALL HAVE THINGS THAT ARE SERIOUS AND WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH.

AND MY FEELING IS THAT IF HERE I AM, I AM GOING TO CHOOSE WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE, I WILL MAKE ART.

WELL, I AM -- I AM NOT GOING TO BE PICKING PAINFUL, SERIOUS THINGS TO DO.

I AM GOING TO PICK THE DELIGHTFUL, FUN THINGS THAT ENTERTAIN ME AND MAKE ME FEEL HAPPY.

I LOVE WOOD BECAUSE OF THE TEXTURE THAT YOU CAN PUT INTO IT.

AS YOU CAN SEE, SOME OF THE TEXTURE I HAVE GOT GOING ON HERE.

AND THAT'S BECAUSE WOOD RESISTS YOU AM IT FIGHTS YOU BACK.

IF IT WAS CLAY, IF I WENT TO DO SOMETHING, I WOULD GO INTO IT LITERALLY.

BUT WOOD DOESN'T.

IT RESISTS YOU, SO YOU CAN PUT THIS WONDERFUL TEXTURE ON IT, WHICH I LOVE AND MAKES THINGS EXCITING TO ME.

TEXTURE.

THIS IS THE WOODEN PATTERN FROM MY DOG'S POINT OF VIEW.

AND I CARVED THIS WOOD, AND HOLLOWED OUT THE BACK SIDE OF IT SO MY CASTING WOULD BE THIN.

THIS IS THE SAME WAY THAT THINGS HAVE BEEN CAST FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

I LOVE ANIMALS.

I WANT MY FURNITURE TO BE ALIVE AND PART OF A PERSON'S LIFE INSTEAD OF AN OBJECT THAT SITS IN THE LIVING ROOM.

I WANTED TO GIVE ENERGY AND HUMOR AND INTEREST INTO THE SETTING.

THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I USE ANIMALS FOR MY FURNITURE.

THIS IS ARTHUR, AND I CARVED ARTHUR IN WOOD, AND WE MADE THE CAST ANYTHING VERMONT AT GLEN'S FOUNDRY.

OUR MOLD IS MADE, AND THEN THE DOG IS CAST IN WAX.

AND THEN THAT WAX IS -- HAS A PLASTER SHELL BUILT AROUND IT.

AND THEN IT IS CAST IN THE BRONZE.

I LOVE BRONZE BECAUSE YOU CAN PLACE IT OUTDOORS AND IT DEVELOPS A WONDERFUL PATINA AND WITHSTANDS THE WEATHER, UNLIKE THE WOOD ORIGINAL.

I GO WITH MY GUT FEELING, I AM A GUT FEELING ARTIST.

I DON'T LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, INTELLECTUALIZE ON WHAT I AM DOING.

I DO THINGS BECAUSE THEY FEEL, EITHER FEEL RIGHT OR WRONG TO ME.

AND I TRY TO DO WHAT FEELS RIGHT, WHAT FEELS COMFORTABLE.

>> I THINK IT REALLY COMES FROM MY DREAMS.

I THINK MOST OF MY WORK EMANATES FROM MY DREAMS.

I DO WAKE UP EARLY.

I USUALLY AM AT W WORK BY 5:00 N THE MORNING, AND I GO INSTANTLY TO WORK WHEN I WAKE UP.

I HAVE TO GO RIGHT TO MY WORKSHOP.

AND I DON'T LIKE SET A SCHEDULE FOR MYSELF AS FAR AS IDEAS.

I REALLY WORK WITH WHAT I FEEL IS IMPORTANT.

AND I THINK THAT THERE AGAIN IT DOES HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE CULTURE, WHERE I FEEL THAT ARTISTS DO RESPOND TO THE COLLECTIVE SUBCONSCIOUS, AND I FEEL LIKE I AM RESPOND TO GET THAT RATHER THAN MY OWN PRIORITIES.

I FEEL ARTISTS DON'T REALLY KNOW WHY THEY DO THINGS, AND THEY DO THINGS BECAUSE THEY ARE ACTING OUT OF THIS MASSIVE AWARENESS OR FOR CULTURAL REASONS, AND THEY ARE REACTING TO THE SUBCONSCIOUS.

EVERYONE'S SHARED SUBCONSCIOUS, AND I FEEL THAT'S WHAT I DO.

>> I NEVER DID ANYTHING WITH SCULPTURE UNTIL I WENT BLIND, BUT I BEGAN TO SEE THE IMAGES OF THIS BEAUTIFUL, YOUNG WOMAN, ALWAYS AU WALKING AROUND AND TALKING TO PEOPLE AND ALWAYS DOING THINGS.

IT CAME TO ME AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN OVER A PERIOD OF MONTHS.

SO, I FEEL THAT I REALLY SHOULD SCULPTOR, AND I DID, AND I CALLED HER "STANDING WOMAN."

WHAT HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I LOST MY VISION WAS I COULD NO LONGER PAINT, SO I TURNED TO SCULPTURE.

MY ENERGIES COME TO ME, PROBABLY BECAUSE I ASK FOR THEM DURING MEDITATION, WHICH I TRY TO DO EVERY MORNING, YOU KNOW, TO KEEP ME COOL AND IN PLACE FOR THE DAY.

AND I USED TO SEE, AT ONE TIME I SAW COLOR, LIKE LOOKING AT A MOVIE FILM.

I DON'T SEE THAT NOW, IT HAS BEEN 20 YEARS SINCE I LOST MY VISION.

FOR INSTANCE, A FIGURE I AM WORKING WITH NOW, THE MOON CAPTURE FIGURE, IT WAS IN WHITE.

I JUST SAW THIS YOUNG GIRL WITH HER ARMS OUT.

I MEAN, IT WAS VERY SIMPLE.

AND I KNEW THAT'S WHAT I SHOULD WORK WITH NEXT.

THIS IS CALLED MOON CAPTURE.

AND IT CAME TO ME DURING MEDITATION, AND I COULD SEE THIS YOUNG WOMAN, YOU KNOW, 12 OR 14, MAYBE, REACHING UP AND HOLDING HER HANDS AS IF SHE COULD CAPTURE THE MOON AND TAKE IT WITH HER.

DIALOGUE COMES FROM HAVING MY FIRST SEEING EYE DOG.

AND SHE WOULD CURL UP AT THE FOOT OF MY BED EVERY NIGHT, WHERE SHE WAS TAUGHT TO BE, AND WHEN I CAME UP TO BED, I WOULD KNEEL DOWN AND TALK TO HER, AND I WOULD TELL HEAR HOW GRATEFUL THAT I WAS TO HER FOR BEING WITH ME.

I THINK THAT SOMETIMES SCULPTORS GET CARRIED AWAY BY THE VISUAL THING.

YOU KNOW.

MAYBE SOME PEOPLE DON'T MAKE IT TO BE TOUCHED.

I DON'T KNOW, BUT I THINK THAT SCULPTURE SHOULD ALWAYS BE TOUGHED.

I THINK WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONCE SENSE IS LOST, LIKE VISION, IS THAT THE PERSON IS MUCH BETTER ABLE TO CONCENTRATE ON THE OTHER SENSES LIKE HEARING OR TOUCH BECAUSE SIGHT IS THE DOMINANT SENSE, AND THERE ARE 15,000 SENSE IMPRESSIONS PER SECOND WITH SIGHT.

THAT'S VERY DISTRACTING.

I AM COMMUNICATING WITH IT ALL THE TIME BECAUSE I AM TOUCHING IT.

AND JUST THAT, I TOUCH IT, AND I SEE IT IN MY MIND BOTH.

AND THEN I WORK ON IT.

AND WHILE I AM WORKING ON IT, SOMETIMES, I GET INTO A STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS, THAT I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED AT ANY OTHER TIME IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

AND IT IS -- THE COMBINATION OF JOY AND PEACE AND EXUBERANCE.

I LIKE THEM TO COME FOR ME, YOU KNOW.

MY INNER VOICE.

SO IF I CAN JUST SPEAK MY INNER VOICE.

WE ARE ALL PRODUCTS OF THE UNIVERSE, IN OTHER WORDS, WE ARE MADE OF THE SAME STUFF.

EVERY ONE OF US.

AND WE ALL HAVE ENERGIES THAT WE USE IN CERTAIN WAYS.

AND ALTHOUGH THE INDIVIDUAL WORK IS UNIQUE, AND THE INDIVIDUAL ARTIST IS UNIQUE, AS EACH PERSON IS UNIQUE, WE HAVE SUCH COMMONALITIES TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, OUR C CHEMISTRY, OUR THOUGHTS, OUR EXPERIENCES, EVEN.

♪ ♪ HOW STRONGLY I BELIEVE IN ART IS FOR EVERYBODY.

IT SHOULD BE AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR LIVES.

I THINK IT'S ENORMOUSLY IMPORTANT TO OUR CONSCIOUSNESS.

EVERYBODY'S CONSCIOUSNESS AS HUMAN BEINGS.

AND I AM ALWAYS SAD WHEN IT'S THE FIRST TO BE CUT.

BUDGET CUT.

BECAUSE IT NOURISHES THE SOUL.

AND WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO OUR SOULS.

>> I AM AN ANTHROPOLOGIST BY TRAINING, AND LIKE MANY, WHETHER OR NOT THEY ADMIT IT, I GOT INVOLVED IN THIS, ESSENTIALLY, ACADEMIC PURSUIT FOR AESTHETIC REASONS.

I STARTED SCULPTING A BIT MORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO.

FROM THE FIRST TIME I WORKED WITH IT TO THE TIME I TOOK IT MORE SERIOUSLY WAS THE SPAN OF ABOUT AN AFTERNOON.

I THINK MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER WOULD VOUCH FOR THE FACT THAT WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF MY FIRST BUYING UP MOST OF THE MODELING CLAY IN BURLINGTON, I STARTED TO THINK OF MYSELF AS A PROFESSIONAL.

I HAVE ALWAYS RETAINED THIS VISUAL, ES THEY CAN, COMPONENT TO MY MY INTERESTS.

I NEVER HAD MUCH OF AN ARTISTIC AUTLET UNTIL I WENT TO MY YOUNGER DAUGHTER, BECKY'S FUN NIGHT AT HER MIDDLE SCHOOL WHERE THEY HAD A FUN WITH CLAY TABLE, AND I FOUND THAT I HAD SOME FACILITY IN WORKING THREE DIMENSIONALLY.

I HAD DONE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DRAWING AND DOODLING, BUT NOTHING TERRIBLY SERIOUS, BUT I FOUND THAT WITH SCULPTURE, I WAS ABLE TO EXPRESS THIS VERY STRONG AESTHETIC QUALITY THAT HAD ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF MY INTEREST IN OTHER CULTURES, AND ALL OF MY WORK AS YOU HAVE SEEN DOES HAVE THIS KIND OF CULTURAL COMPONENT.

IT EITHER DRAWS ON MY OWN FIELD WORK EXPERIENCES IN THE PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN REGION, OR ON MY HISTORICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL INTEREST IN THE MIDWESTERN WEST OR ANCIENT HISTORY.

♪ ♪ ♪ I DON'T HAVE ANY GREAT INSIGHTS ABOUT THIS.

IT HAPPENED SUDDENLY.

I STILL TENDING TO MY INSPIRATIONS MORE THROUGH FLASHES THAN THROUGH ANY KIND OF SYSTEMIC RESEARCH OR LOOKING AT DRAWINGS OR PHOTOGRAPHS.

THERE WAS A PERIOD OF TIME WHEN I FIRST STARTED DOING THIS WHEN I WAS DREAMING IN CLAY.

I WOULD HAVE THE SAME DREAMS THAT OTHERS HAD EXCEPT THAT THE PEOPLE WERE A BIT ROUGHER SURFACE THAN GREEN.

IT VARIES, SOMETIMES THEY COME WHILE I AM ASLEEP, AND SOMETIMES THEY COME WHEN I AM BORED, AND SOMETIMES RANDOMLY IN THE MIDST OF ANY OTHER EXIFT, I WILL GET A FLASH OF SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE SCULPTED.

♪ ♪ WHAT WE HAVE HERE ARE SOME OF THE CRITICAL STAGES IN THE EVOLUTION OF A BRONZE CASTING.

FOR POINT OF ILLUSTRATION I AM USING ONE OF MY PIECES CALLED "LAST COUP," WHICH DEPICTS A LAKOTA SIOUX INDIAN IN MORTAL COMBAT.

WE BEGIN CASTING, THE CASTING PROCESS WITH CONSTRUCTION OF AN ORIGINAL SCULPTURE, AND IN MY CASE I USE MODELING WAX OR PLASTALENE CLAY.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE A GOOD ARMATURE OR A SKELETAL STRUCTURE MADE OF VARIOUS DIMENSIONS OF FLEXIBLE METALS.

BY RAPIDLY COVERING THE ARMATURE WITH ALUMINUM FOIL I CAN GET A SENSE OF THE OVERALL STRUCTURAL MASS OF THE PIECE.

THE NEXT STAGE IS TO MELT MODELING WAX ON A, ON A HOT PLATE, AND WHEN IT'S IN A LIQUID FORM, WHICH ONLY TAKES A FEW MINUTES, DUMP IT INTO COLD WATER, AND IT WILL CONGEAL INTO A DULL-LIKE MASS, WHICH YOU CAN QUICKLY SLATHER OVER THE ARMATURE TO BUILD UP THE SENSE OF FORM EVEN FURTHER.

AT THAT POINT YOU GET DOWN TO THE FINE BUSINESS OF SCULPTURE ADDING ON, TAKING AWAY, USING ALL SORTS OF TOOLS.

AT THIS POINT, YOU CAN FUNDAMENTALLY FOUNTAIN YOUR SCULPTURE IN ITS ROUGH STATE.

AT THAT POINT, YOU TURN TO THE FOUNDRYMEN, AND MOLD-MAKER WHO WILL MAKE A RUBBER IMPRESSION OF YOUR SCULPTURE.

YOU CAN GENERATE A NUMBER OF WAX POSITIVES OF THE ORIGINAL MODEL.

THESE HOLLOW WAXES CAN BE FURTHER TOUCHED UP AND REFINED, AND ARE THEN CODED INSIDE AND OUT WITH A FIRE RESISTANT REFRACTORY SILICA MATERIAL.

THEY THEN GO INTO A VERY HOT BURNOUT KILN, THE WAX MELTS OUT THROUGH PRECONSTRUCTED VENTS AND GATES AS THEY ARE CALLED, AND IN THE SPACE THAT THE WAX HAS VACATED GOES THE MOLTEN BRONZE, AND WHAT YOU WIND UP WITH IS A BRONZE SCULPTURE.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> FOR MORE CLASSIC PROGRAMS, VISIT VERMONTPBS.ORG/FROMTHEARCHIVES.