What material(s) do you use in your sculptures?
“Stainless steel flatware, auto parts and other found objects.“
Where do you locate your material(s)?
“I get my material from friends, a constable who goes to estate sales for me, thrift stores and I have a friend at Texas Disposal Systems Resale shop who captures pieces out of the trash. Anywhere else that may come to mind. You got any? I will pay 10 cents apiece. It must be stainless steel- I cannot weld silver plate.”
What is your primary forming method?
“Welding“
What is your favorite surface treatment?
“Clearcoat or powder coat”
What are your favorite Tools?
“Welder, Fordom grinder, power wire brush”
Describe your studio environment.
“Welding studio-sometimes noisy, dusty and cluttered“
How/Where do you market and sell your artwork?
“Online, gallery, word of mouth “
What sparks your creativity? What drives you to create?
“Imagination, seeing images represented by unrelated objects“
Did you come to sculpture from a different career? Tell us about your journey to becoming a sculptor.
“I was chief justice of the 3rd court of appeals and an associate IV-D judge in the third and seventh administrative districts. I come from an artistic family and always wanted to learn to weld. When I went from one judicial job to another about 25 years ago, I had an opportunity to take art welding courses from Austin Community College and started making “assemblage” art from found objects. I was surprised to win a sculpture contest and started selling my sculptures.“
How have you have taken your experience as a well-established maker in the field and passed that knowledge along to other artists?
“No, not that I know of”
What’s the best advice you’ve been given by a fellow maker, mentor, or teacher?
“Create whatever you find exciting or interesting. Don’t worry about what anyone might think. Don’t make art because it sells, but because it expresses something you want to say, even if you don’t know what that is.“
TSOS Member Profile: Ken Law
Website: www.whitehawkart.org
Bio:
Ken Law was born in 1948 in Belton, Texas. His mother was an artist and his sister is an artist in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was enrolled in his first art lessons at age 6 and has always had a lifetime interest in art. He attended The University of Texas and Baylor Law School, becoming a lawyer and a judge, and is primarily self-taught in art.
In 2008, he took his first art welding and metal sculpting courses from Austin Community College where he pursued a Certificate in Art Welding. One of his instructors said about Ken:
“Ken has the rare ability to see beyond the subject material and create images hiding within. He employs found objects, such as common household utensils, forming dynamic sculptures that have movement and life. His passion for the work shows in his sculptures. He was a superior student and is an inventive talent.”
His work was recently featured on the TV series The Texas Country Reporter.
He is Past President of the Texas Society of Sculptors and is a current member of the Board of Directors.
He is married to Carol, a retired teacher. They have a son, Boone Law, of
Kangaroo Island, South Australia, a daughter, Julie Delafield, of Ft. Worth, Texas and a granddaughter, Kiva, also of South Australia.
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