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This is the year that Dairy Flat sculptor Gregory James has taken a leap of faith and become a fulltime artist.
It’s something that his work as a cabinetmaker and builder, and study of fine art in South Africa, has been leading towards for some time. Over the past six years the 48-year-old has been fitting sculpting commissions around work but now, with a few commissions lined up and a new role as tutor at Estuary Arts Centre, the time felt right.
Greg’s passion is for traditional realism, and he has a particular love of the human form. He works in stone because, with no option of adding colour, the work becomes all about the form and the material used. Seeing and revealing that potential form within a block of stone is one of the challenges for the artist.
At Estuary Arts in Orewa Greg will teach Oamaru Stone Carving for Beginners, starting this term. He has sourced Oamaru stone blocks for the students and says he will be there to facilitate each student’s individual vision, and to work with them whatever stage and skill level they are at.
He is looking forward to learning from the students, as well as sharing his knowledge and experience with them.
At the start of his commitment to life as a fulltime artist, Greg is under no illusions. “I have to believe that if I do it properly, each commission will roll onto something else,” he says. “I think the most important quality for an artist is selfishness, because you are sacrificing another career and a reliable income and there will be an impact on family, as you chase your passion and dream.”
