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Sculpture by Bettye Hamblen Turner

Artist's Statement

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Horses have always fascinated me. I relate to horses as a source of joy that has its roots in the non-verbal, pure experience that I knew as a child. I love their shape and movement, their mix of textures, and even their smell. As I studied equine anatomy, herd behavior, and the horse's role in human history, I noticed how much our language and culture still reflect the horse's influence. Using steel alone or combined with found objects, I try to express the interface of the frontier with the urban, the past and present. It is the movement and the dignity of horses that reflects best the joining of the old and new.

Artist's Biography

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My early childhood was the perfect combination of city and country. There were always animals - dogs and cats, rabbits, goats, a pony, and even a raccoon. I grew up hunting with my father and brothers. My mother was my first, and in many ways best, art teacher. She made all my clothes and let me design my own wardrobe before I started school. My Barbie had custom clothing and furniture in her modern beach condo made of Legos and rode my brother's Johnny West horse at her Lincoln Log ranch home.

We moved to San Angelo just before I started junior high. Horses were the best part of West Texas. I learned to ride both English and Western style. As a teenager I got to work on a ranch owned by a family friend. And I lived the childhood dream - I had my own horse.

I studied art in college, concentrating on painting and design. After exploring a variety of mediums I realized working in two dimensions was as frustrating as it was fulfilling. When my husband and I returned to West Texas we bought a home in a town of 800 people with all the facilities I needed to sculpt full time. My neighbors are very gracious about the welding and grinding noises coming from my studio at odd hours.

Resumé

Exhibits:
Stribling Art Extravaganza, benefit show for West Texas Rehab, 2003, 2004, 2005
Sculptor's Dominion, 2005

Collections:
Concho Valley Center for Human Advancement
First National Bank of Tennessee
Southwestern Bell
The Dallas Relocation Center

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