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“OFF THE MOGOLLON RIM”

In northern Arizona, there is an area called the ‘Mogollon Rim.’ It is famous for its beauty and ruggedness. It is the same area where Zane Grey (a western novelist) had a cabin, received inspiration and authored a number of novels.

About 20 years ago, I was invited to participate in a round-up in this country, with Lee Hunsaker. His outfit ran cattle on 25 square miles of government land, which was part of the Mogollon Rim. Here’s what I found interesting…..the horses he used to round up cattle with were let loose, with the cattle…after each round up. It was these same animals we gathered first. I asked Lee why he did that? He said, “This land is so rugged and hard for working cow horses to get used to. I like to let my horses loose to roam and graze the same land they’ll be used to round up cattle on later. About a week prior to heading out for the big-gather, I bring ‘em in and ride the starch out of ‘em, so’s they remember what they’re doing with a saddle and rider back on ‘em.”

That round-up experience inspired this piece. It shows a cow man bringing in a group of horses to get them ready to go back out and bring in the cattle for branding, ticking, spraying, dehorning, doctoring and culling out any for beef.

Note: My family roots go back 150 years in Arizona, and were some of the first to settle that country. I was raised by a father whose mother’s heritage goes back to the late 1800’s, raising cattle, on the Mogollon Rim (i.e. The Cove Ranch). I’ve had friends who’ve had ranches in that area for 60+ years. All of them pronounced “Mogollon” as ‘muh-ghee-ohn’. Then again, what I’ve learned, there’s as many ways to say it as there are people.

SCOTT ROGERS

Scott Rogers’ love affair with bronze began when he bought a bronze sculpture from his uncle, Grant Speed. Six months later in October of 1990, he came home from work one day, looked at that bronze and said, “I can do that”. He sought counsel at the hands of master teachers, Fritz White CA, Stanley Bleifeld, Herb Mignery CA, Mehl Lawson CA and Grant Speed CA.

“My desire is to use art as a vehicle to inspire mankind to see the beauty of life. Artists are prone to leave emotional fingerprints all over their work; hence, what you’ll be seeing, in a way, are self-portraits. I love how shape, line and form communicate. Every line has a spirit and speaks volumes. Put a lump of clay in my hands and a short while later you’ll know exactly how I feel and physically see my soul. I am finding that the key to life is to develop eyes to see what is really ‘there’.”

Scott Rogers loves what he does and portraying the Old West. “I remember, fondly, the hours spent as a youth reading of renegades, rebels, rogues, outlaws, wild men and horses, ferocity, passion, power, cunning, independence, honor, loneliness, fear, rage, courage and freedom. These words worked their way into my soul and now find expression through my fingers in clay. The “West” was about men and women who had courage, who were part of something bigger than themselves. I find great pleasure in doing these people justice by creating a fair portrayal of their characters.”

“I sculpt feelings and not reality. In fact, to me, the words sculpture and feelings are synonymous. I love it when someone says, after viewing one of my pieces, ‘I can feel the bullet hitting him, I feel like I’m on the back of the bucking horse’ or ‘I can hear the roar of the stampede.’ I know art uplifts the spirit, it makes one want to be better, to feel good about themselves and their fellow man, to reach out for that which is good in life. It’s my wish that you experience some of what I feel through my art.”