James Travers

It’s about the art. But where did it come from? I grew up in Woodbury, CT (the antiques capitol of the U.S.). The home of Surrealists Kay Sage and Yves Tanguy. Seven miles from Alexander Calder’s home in Roxbury, CT. Eight miles from Naum Gabo’s home in Middlebury, CT.

I remember meeting both Calder and Sage. While not from an art family, and with no art classes or training, I was still aware of the art life and wondered “Why, what’s it about?” Then I went about my life for 30 years.

I did live on a farm for a time as a young boy, and had four uncles who were farmers, and I developed visual values formed by the organic simplicity and complexity of the country outdoors. Family heritage of metalworking and mechanics-maybe it’s in the genes.

I'm a lifelong Teamster-not impressed by poseurs and verbiage.

I had some training in journalism, and I have found that editing has a

significant, direct application to the communication capability

and composition of sculpture.

My first sculpture is a self-portrait full of anguish that I felt compelled to make as a means of beginning to dispel the toxic grief that filled and overwhelmed me after the death of my first wife. It took a while for the collapse of what I had known as my life to hit me, but when it did, to survive, I had to describe the agony and deal with it. This led to my first sculpture, “March 1997”, and with it my discovery of the process of artwork.

I’ve been doing it full-time for since 2002, and loving it!!!!

Artistically I’m entirely self-taught.

Sculpture has changed my life for the better.

(http://traverssculpture.artspan.com/home)

"Everest"

25" x 18" x 11" - steel

"Tribal Warrior"
44" x 19" x 14" - steel

"Hearing Music"
48" x 36" x 28" - steel