Matthew Farfan

George Foster and Debbie Everett love to sculpt. Foster works in bronze, Everett in wood. Neither artist studied art in school; both discovered their art in a roundabout way. Looking at their work, it is difficult to imagine two more radically different styles. Yet this ever-modest couple are both highly accomplished, highly original artists.

Foster and Everett at Frederick Amsden Gallery, 2000.
(Photo: Matthew Farfan)

"SHINY THINGS"
Foster, who lives in a rambling old farmhouse near Way's Mills, studied chemistry in school. Ever since he was a kid, he says, he loved "shiny things." A graduate of McMaster University, Foster moved to the Townships around 1970. He had dabbled in foundry work while at school, and when he bought his farm, one of the first things he did was build himself a foundry. Foster began his career casting sculpture for other artists. Among his commissions was the casting of the annual ACTRA Awards.

Pouring molten bronze. (Photo: Courtesy of George Foster)

"ULTIMATE MAGICAL THING"
Foster still does casting for other artists. Sculptors supply him with a mould, and from that, he produces the finished bronze sculpture. He says that he has always been fascinated by molten metal and by the idea of transforming it into solid form. "Casting," he says, is the "ultimate magical thing; it's almost alchemical." The moment of truth, he says, is when he opens a mould to see what the liquid has hardened into. "It's always a bit of a gamble, and often you have to start over if the piece doesn't quite work out."

Checking for flaws. (Photo: Matthew Farfan)

ORGANIC FORMS
After casting strictly for others for about five years, Foster began experimenting with his own pieces. He was attracted by what he calls "organic forms," or shapes found in the natural world. This is what drew him to the human body and to the animal world. It also led him to what is still his great love (and the subject for which he is best known) - insects.


"COMPULSIVE BEETLESMITH"
"You might call me a compulsive beetlesmith," Foster laughs. But kidding aside, this master craftsman has carved himself (literally) a niche as North America's foremost sculptor of insects. His work is exquisite. He has sculpted hundreds of different species of insect -- usually in bronze, but sometimes in silver and occasionally in aluminum.

Beetles. (Photo: Tim Doherty)

Foster's pieces are usually much larger than their real life counterparts. His largest piece to date was his 3-foot, 60-pound New Guinea rhinoceros beetle. Some of his pieces are fairly small. For instance, the silver jewellery he designs can be tiny and very delicate. Whatever their size, his pieces are always impeccably realistic.

A visit to George Foster's foundry reveals dozens of insects in various shapes and sizes and in various stages of completion. Some are awaiting the patina that Foster painstakingly applies to each of them when it is finished. Others are cast-off rejects waiting to be melted down again because of some minor flaw that probably only Foster would notice.

Finished products. (Photo: Matthew Farfan)

WACKY SIDE
Some of Foster's pieces are a little on the wacky side. Nevertheless, they have helped cement his reputation as a highly original if unconventional artist. Particularly memorable was the giant wild turkey he hammered together out of scrap metal for his entry two years ago in Eastern Townships Art Competition at the Frederick Amsden Gallery. That piece (below) won him the coveted First Prize in the juried category.

The year before that he won First Prize for "Moles in Beer," a quirky bronze of a mole burrowing through a beer bottle (top). Then there are the insects he mounts on mirrors --testimony to his continuing fascination with "shiny things."

Wild Tom Turkey at Frederick Amsden Gallery, 2001.
(Photo: Matthew Farfan)

Foster is a member of the Sculptors' Society of Canada. He has exhibited in many prestigious venues, including the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., the University of British Columbia, the National Museum of Nature in Ottawa, the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke, and the Insectarium in Montreal. His work is much sought after by collectors around the world.


Click here for: "George Foster and Debbie Everett: Sculpting for the Love of It (Part 2)"