A day to Remember and Honor
Memorial Day; a day to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country. We should always remember this day as that and not how I remember it growing up as a kid with a day off from school or work, backyard bbq’s, poolside activities and music. It’s a day to honor the lives lost fighting for our freedoms. Not a happy day by any means.
Over the past ten years I’ve been honored to have many of my sculptures take center stage during the Memorial Day weekend, as well as other major holidays that honor our service members. While it gives me joy (for lack of a better word) that my sculptures can help people heal from their loss, on the flip side of the coin it helps me see that there are so many families that have lost loves ones during battle.
Making military themed sculptures creates a yin and yang of emotions in me, it has to. As an artist, you have to create something powerful and real so the viewer can connect with the artwork. This requires a lot of hard work as well as passion for what one does. Good anatomy, movement and strong composition are some of the elements that make for great art. But as an artist you also need to connect with your subject and what it feels like, for example, if you are in battle or lost a friend during battle. Without connecting deeply to what the subject is doing the artwork fails. I am fortunate to know quite a few Veterans who, like my late father, have shared with me their feelings of loss and war that they hold deep inside their heart. The yin is in the strength and power of the sculpture. The yang is the emotions it evokes in the viewer.
Memorial Day; a day to remember and never forget.
I take pride when I can create a sculpture that evokes an emotional response in people. It means I’ve done my job well. Below are photos of various monuments during Memorial Day 2022.
