Who says facebook is a waste of time? (OK, it kinda is) But…there are groups like Grassroots Art Center that actually do keep me in the know about regional self-taught artists. Today was no exception.
Fred Whitman is an Ojai, California dentist whose bad back forced him to explore a different path. “A dentist is a skilled craftsman. Art comes from somewhere deeper inside,” Whitman said. Originally working with Italian marble, but it proved to be too time consuming, so he turned to the “softer” rock of limestone. Folks would ship postrocks (the limestone fence posts that dot the north central Kansas landscape) for him to carve.
Recently, Fred decided to visit Post Rock Country and leave behind a gift to the region that inspired him. Along KS Hwy 232, he turned a cattle farmer’s fence post into a sculpture of a woman with long flowing hair.
To read more – please visit the Salina Jounal
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Reed Twil
Nov 22, 2011 -
If he’s anything like my dentist, he aught to know how to carve into things (ouch!) 😉 Do you have a link to some pictures of his work? I am very interested to see them.