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“RANGE WAR”

For me, one of the greatest things on earth is to witness two athletes (be they man or beast) battle head to head in fierce competition – each giving the pinnacle performance of his life.  I heard it once said, ‘One only loses when he fails to get up one more time’. It’s the rare breed that’s knocked down one-hundred times and gets up and fight you the hundred and first.  The unconquerable spirit that refuses to be broken – refuses to quit. They will have to be killed before they will have a master. Like in the 5 words of Churchill’s most famous speech, they, “Never, Never, Never give up!”  I have talked with old ranchers who tell of two bulls fighting for days on end, of horses that would never be broken. 

I believe a contest of wills can be had without getting personal.  It is about ‘me’ and my commitment to my ideal and principles.  Oh! If each one of us could live the life of a champion and live long enough to have our mettle tested in competition with one of equal desire.

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.”