DACMan

As the carvings were hung for the opening of the show, “The Studio by David Alan,” I was elated to find how beautiful they really are.  In the rough Bali studio where the pieces were carved and re-carved by the craftsmen sitting on the terracotta floor, it was impossible to know if their magic would come alive.

It is strange for me to walk through the show and be touched by what we created.  The pieces are completely mine, step-by-step, and not mine all at the same time.  I can’t take credit for them.  They were a gift.

I spent years preparing for this show.  I worked untold hours with and without the carvers to make this happen, but I stand in front of these works of art and wonder where they came from.  After spending an hour walking through the show, a friend captured this feeling so well when she said, “The muse was generous with you.”  What a sweet perception of all that happened.  If the muse gives gifts, how can credit be taken?

This show matters more to me than any show or any work I’ve ever done.  It matters because creating and sharing beauty, awe, inspiration and wonder matters.  The deeper it penetrates individually and collectively, the better for all. If these works from “The Studio” touch and inspire, that’s a good thing.

There is a certain rawness to the Zion carvings we make in “The Studio”.  While this work has a strong lyrical quality, its beauty is expressed through a gritty honesty, not prettiness. From the chisel marks that show, you can almost feel the coarseness of the rock. This character reminds me both of the wood we used to carve the pieces and the rough textures of nature.

I have tried in my fifty or so trips to Southern Utah to capture this landscape through photography by taking from 50-1000 shots per trip. Never have I been able to touch the sacred beauty of Zion on film, but somehow, I can’t give up trying. Though seemingly impossible, I none-the-less have had to try again to capture Zion by carving its likeness in wood.

Amazingly, these carvings do capture the spirit of Zion, bringing back the beauty and awe of those canyons. Where my photographs have failed, these carving inspire and give me life. They remind me to return again to the places I most love.

"Bare Reflection" by David Alan

While creating something such as “The Studio” has been my dream since undergrad art student days, acquiring the skill and patience to sculpt in wood has been low on my priority list. What persisted over time are the gnawing hunger for, and the recurring vision of, things I wanted to make.  For decades I collected ideas and made drawings, hoping someday to find someone who could brings these ideas to life.  I imagined the ateliers of Brancusi or Miro and the studios of Rembrandt being an intense blending of vision, labor, and the drive to create.  I always wanted that blend of energies, and deeply value having it how!

Over the last several years, we developed our woodworking workshops in Bali, where we design and build furniture.  This is the fulfillment of another long-standing dream, to be able to design and build furniture without major financial and materials constraints.  The purpose of “The Studio” is to make extraordinary relief and free-standing sculpture, carved from wood and stone.  It took hundreds of conversations with many people over several years to find the best carvers for the studio.  We now have exceptional carvers working with perfect materials in a great workspace, with more inspiration than can be put to use.  The atmosphere in “The Studio” is both light and serious, and we are all proud of and excited by wheat we are doing.

This September, while I was in Bali preparing the debut of “The Studio by David Alan,” the rainy season began unexpectedly, three months early. Storms rolled in with rain pelting the corrugated tin roof, creating a sea of mud in the parking area.  In the background was always the incessant tick, tick, tick, sound of mallets and chisels transforming slabs of wood into stunning works of art.  Monk-like concentration mingles with teasing and laughter, as the carvers hew their way into gorgeous slabs of wood.  Tick, tick, tick, is my music, my heart’s song being sung.  This is the sound of inspiration and joy in action.  Hands, eyes, intelligence, and labor meld, satisfying and renewing the hunger for and love of creating beautiful, enduring works.

"Zion Harmony" by David Alan

Looking closely at each of these carvings, the interplay between the wood grain and the texture creates a sense of wonder and appreciation.  The materials used and the human skill and insight which goes into making these carvings utterly transforms them into unique works of art.  The inspiration for these new creations comes from diverse sources such as nature, Asian art, and my internal fantasy world.

The simplest things in nature inspire me, such as a raindrop hitting a pool of still water, or the process of mud drying into cracked and jagged pieces of delicate earth.  I am often reminded of nature?s spectacular gifts when I visit the canyons of Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon.

These are the kind of images from nature and the sense of awe I am trying to capture in wood.  Seemingly impossible, yes, but sometimes the most impossible quests produce the most astounding results.

Other pieces in “The Studio by David Alan” are inspired by the designs and motifs of Asian art.  Even after more than 50 trips to India and other parts of Asia, I still hunger for more of these cultures.  My imagination, and therefore my work, is constantly inspired by the remarkably varied artistic expressions and heart touching scenes in find in that part of our world.

My fantasy world inspires the third group of pieces.  Inhabited by strange creatures that are mostly playful and sometimes anthropomorphic, these funny guys show up here and there in these relief carvings.  They make me smile and help balance the serious side of art.

In the end, these new creations are inspired by beauty.  It stems from my life pursuit for, and appreciation of, that which is beautiful.  It is this deep sense of awe and inspiration I wish to bring to life and to you.