{"id":196575,"date":"2018-04-16T11:09:28","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T15:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=196575"},"modified":"2018-04-16T11:09:28","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T15:09:28","slug":"commentary-going-back-to-go-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-going-back-to-go-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"COMMENTARY: Going back to go forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It has been said that if Christopher Columbus revisited the Caribbean today, when viewing Dominica from seaward, he would find that it looked the same as it did centuries ago: nothing has changed.<\/p>\n

The same could be said of Michelangelo and scores of Renaissance painters and sculptors if they were able to visit my workshops and studio at Antrim. My materials and techniques have changed very little since their time. When it comes down to craftsmanship: nothing has changed.<\/p>\n

The series of pictures that accompany this commentary illustrate the processes involved in figurative sculpture.
\n(1) The figure is first modelled in clay.
\n(2) From the clay a plaster mold is made.
\n(3) The clay is then removed and into the assembled mold I pour plaster.
\n(4) The mold is then chipped away to reveal the \u201cmaster\u201d plaster cast.
\n(5) A second mold is made from the master cast and from this, a wax impression is made for the final cast in bronze.<\/p>\n

That, in a nutshell, covers hundreds of individual steps, a lifetime’s experience and no less than a year’s work for a life-size figure. The past masters would recognize all the materials and be familiar with every step along the way. Nothing has changed!<\/p>\n

The same can be said for my work as an engineer. In my workshop I have replicated precision parts that machine shops overseas have given up on. Many of my tools and measuring instruments are engraved with my grandfather\u2019s name. Some of my machines are as old as I am but can still work to an accuracy to one tenth the diameter of a hair from your head. Nothing in my workshop is Computer Numerically Controlled.<\/p>\n

For my recent experiments in making paper from Dominica’s rich natural resources, I built a machine, the design of which dates back to the 17th century. Nothing more recent can do the job half as well. I am now making my own dyes and grinding my own colours, just as was done hundreds of years ago. Nothing has changed!<\/p>\n

All the above may give the impression that I’m stuck in a time-warp, but that is not so. As an innovative engineer I have contributed to the improvement of many present day designs \u2013 including the gear shift on the car you drive – and for all my work, the internet is a valuable resource.<\/p>\n

In particular, the internet has enabled me to share my work as a sculptor and painter with thousands of art students throughout the world. In the 1990\u2019s my on-line diary pages pioneered bringing art into school classrooms and the UK government commissioned a sculpture specifically to further that initiative. The site has since won international acclaim and can be found at: sculpturestudiodominica.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

As a sculptor and painter I work from the live model. Likewise, the art student needs the stimulus of learning from a live teacher.<\/p>\n

The success of a work of art is dependent on the artist\u2019s eye to hand co-ordination and visual judgement. These attributes have become neglected in recent times. The demise is particularly apparent in the design of our built environment.<\/p>\n

As a step towards solving this dilemma, I have in mind, specifically for students here in Dominica, a one year Foundation Course in the Visual Arts. The course will serve as an introduction to all aspects of the visual arts. Studio sessions will emphasis the practical and on-line research will investigate the work of artists past and present.<\/p>\n

I have tried this launching this initiative before, but whereas elsewhere in the world students would be queueing around the block to enroll, Dominican students have been conspicuous by their absence. In general they are encouraged to be a lawyers or bank managers and not another Van Gogh, Rodin or Roger Burnett.<\/p>\n

But having said that, I am regularly approached by disillusioned graduates – all too often working behind the till at a supermarket – that tell me that if they had only known on leaving school that art was an option, they would have jumped at it. With that in mind, if any prospective school leavers are tempted to jump, please drop a line to: antrimstudio@gmail.com<\/p>\n