Reflection on November 14 th, 2009

Liberation back view," liberation "front view, "The Thinker" side view, " The argony of a jealous wife"; The 'Thinker' front view


Reflection on November 14th, 2009

Assignment:
Reflect on your individual creative process. What are the sources or influences on the art works that you produce? What is the goal or purpose of your art production and why do you produce it? What are the unique cognitive skills that you employ and how do they help you achieve your creative goal? Cite specific examples for your statement.

As an art teacher and sculptor and a painter, most of my content and finished art works are based on my life experiences. By this I mean, my place of birth, Ghana, my education, family, culture, and places that I have lived or visited around the world and also activities I have been involved throughout my life.
Most of my sculpture works are wood carvings, subtractive sculpture, cement and clay all additive sculpture
Some few works are assembled sculpture involving wood, cardboard, wire and found objects. I have also done some commercial commissioned works to the specifications of my clients.
Most of my wood works depicts what the original wood suggests. In order words I perceive the imprisoned design in the wood and free it up through traditional and conventional methods of carving. An example of this is my master piece carving entitled the Rhinoceros (Rhino) this work was carved from the root of a big tree that fell after a storm. As soon as I saw it, I perceived the rhino imprisoned in the roots and went for it to carve. It weighs about 150 pounds and about 3 feet long and 2 feet wide. It is currently among the Ghana National Museum collections in Accra, Ghana. The Crucifix is also another freed carving from a “Y” joint of a log about 50 pound weights. It was auctioned in the Bahamas government house for $10,000.000 in a fund raising for a school. “Liberation” is another master piece of a wood carving from a “Y” joint log; it is currently on display at the Virginia National Slavery Museum in the USA
The original clay and cement works are usually the product of the sum total of my way of life, hence my culture.
The goal of my works is to bring out my inner feeling usually from the subconscious mind to the outside world, (the viewers of my works). The works sometimes starts from my dreams. Followed by series of sketches in the middle of the night to clay miniature pieces and finally into cement life size sculptures.
The process and the end result of most of my creative works are magical. Everything evolves intuitively from the subconscious mind since most of the time I am not sure exactly how the end product would look like. Example of such creative master pieces are “The Thinker” a finished cements terrazzo work about 4 feet high and 2 feet wide. “The Fetish Priest”, cement, “The Acrobat” cement and “The Agony of a Jealous Wife” wood carving now on display at the Neighborhood gallery in East point, Atlanta.
In conclusion I can say that the influence or sources of my individual creative process is the sum total of my way of life, culture. My goal is therefore to express my inner feelings through a chosen medium to the outside world, from the conscious and subconscious mind (my definition of art)