An Eyelash in Bronze

Would you believe that after being a sculptor (26 years) I am still amazed at the transformation process (the miracle) of how a clay sculpture is turned into bronze. I once went to a foundry to inspect a finished piece. Upon examination, I attempted to brush away an eyelash….only to realize it was part of the piece. The mold had picked up the impression of an eyelash on the clay and it was now cast into metal as part of the piece! Blew my mind.

When every piece I sculpt, I write a “Piece Description”.
“AMERICAN COWBOY”

Sure, there were men who worked cattle decades, if not centuries, before Charlie Goodnight and numerous other drovers crossed the Concho, the Wichita, the Red River, to ‘head beeves north’. Mexican vaqueros new more about roping, branding and riding, generations prior to the iconic ‘American Cowboy’ of yesteryear. That said, the ‘American Cowboy’ did quickly evolve into his own unique living archetype of brashness, moxie, language, etiquette and personal codes to live by. It is amazing that the heyday of the ‘cow men’ (how they truly liked to be referred) lasted a brief twenty years, and yet their impact still defines a lasting image and identity of an entire nation.

Throughout my life, when an image of the ‘Oval Office’ would be shown in either photos, magazines or movies, I’d often see a sculpture(s) as part of the decor. Be it a bust of Abraham Lincoln or Frederic Remington’s “Bronco Buster”, I was always moved by the imagery. After I’d been sculpting a few years, I had a feeling come over me, “I want to sculpt a piece that would be worthy of being on display in the office of The President of the United States. After twenty-five years as a sculptor, “American Cowboy” may be ‘that’ piece.

SCOTT ROGERS
“AMERICAN COWBOY”
24 1/2″ High – Edition of #30