While attempting to complete the fence around the family cemetery, the closest town is 35 miles away, and Lopez ran out of material. Thus, his imagination kicked into gear and he began to dig in scrap iron on site to complete his work.
All visitors were amazed at his work; re-use gave Lopez such new-found personal satisfaction. Lopez was already a successful commissioned bronze sculptor, but the excitement of the hunt and sculpting from scrap causes him to never be bored. Scrap iron to Lopez brings forth a totally new direction for his work that piques his imagination and talent to a whole new level.
Over the past 10 years, Lopez has been working on The City of Presidents project in Rapid City, SD. Bronze presidents reside on street corners through the town. He has sculptures scattered across the country and traveling exhibitions.
Amid his sculpting of Presidents, and other commissions, Lopez has been able to build a career in sculpture without leaving his rather isolated prairie home in South Dakota. Lopez grew up on a ranch; he knows horses and he knows cattle. It's no surprise that's what he loves to sculpt best.
Lopez's work in progress now is a draft horse pulling a plow. What I find so interesting is that the longer you look at the piece, the more items you discover being incorporated into the mix. This brings forth curiosity at a whole new level as a spectator of Lopez's magical interpretations.
Sure, it's metal. Sure, it's scrap. Sure, it's rusted. However, Lopez's beautiful feathered work horse manages to capture your heart when you look into its seemingly kind eye, which brings a soulful feel to this magnificent piece.
Please enjoy: http://johnlopezstudio.blogspot.com/ to see his other works on display. I will keep up with the final unveiling of this draft horse work in progress.
Stunning! Thanks for sharing.
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