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As far as I have come
David • 30 March 2020
There's a saying I like: "Comfort a'fore stargazing I always say, but if a man must have a dream let him choose one that's well out of reach, for there is nothing more set to break a man's heart than to let him have his dream."
We recently demolished the large tree house that we had built when the children were young, around eight years old. It was rotting after 20 years of hard weather. Tonight my son, now aged 22, and I sat by the fire and burnt some of the beams of timber that we brought down. I felt it was the beginning of a new era, a sign of "putting away childish things".
The older I get the more I realise that it is good to make things and to own things, and to have things handed down to you, but also good to know when their time is up, that that moment of a past time must be let go, and to look forward not backwards.
I came dangerously close to having my dream recently, but with this goal nearly reached, many more horizons have opened up, and happily I now have a different dream that is well out of reach!
This was a commission for a church in Warwickshire whose crucifix above the pulpit has had an arm missing for some time. The puzzling thing is that no one knows when the left arm came off or what happened to it... The replacement arm, which is only approximately 20cm long, is carved in boxwood; the shoulder area was carved on site to match the figure in the church, as the crucifix itself was too delicate to transport. It will be polished to match the existing figure by a French polisher who lives in the parish. The contact at the church wrote: “Thank you so much for your time, skill and love that you have put into creating the arm for Jesus... I will gladly promote your activities wherever I can. I wish you all the best with your creative project."
This image was kindly sent at the time by the wonderful Sue Carverhill, Arts Development Officer for South Northants Council. It shows the two sculptures by David Snell submitted for the 2012 exhibition at the Heseltine Gallery. It was an honour to have these pieces selected and it was gratifying that John Childs, who curated the exhibition, set the sculptures in such a good position for viewing all round. The furthest subject is titled "Diver" and was inspired by an image of an Olympic diver. The subject in the foreground is titled "A New Life", which is a personal reflection on the joy of fatherhood.
Great to have 3 works selected for the "Art in Isolation" online exhibition at the Heseltine Gallery in Northamptonshire. Each piece has a story attached which the gallery have included with the exhibition. Take a look here: https://www.theheseltinegallery.org.uk/david-snell The gallery is one of the best in the area for contemporary art, so why not support it by becoming a Friend of the Heseltine Gallery?
I was asked recently how the studio came about. If I'm honest, I am not sure how I got this far.