Donald Grant Hines originally from Casper, Wyoming, moved over to Jackson Hole to be the founder, owner and jeweler for his name's sake jewelry store that he ran with his wife at the time. Upon retirement from the shop he starting spending time in the Arizona desert. For a while you could find examples of this sculpture at the Casa de Artist Gallery in Scottsdale, and in other Arizona locations where they described him as a 20th Century Arizona artist. One of his sculptures is shown below with a full description:
Wyoming Inventors, Patent #: 5669744, for a rotary chisel, dated: Sept. 23, 1997. This is part of the USPTO claim, in his own words: Art Sculptors and other craftsmen who cut and shape raw material (e.g., wood, metal, stone, etc.) use a variety of tools such as chisels, grinders, saws, etc. Such tools are sometimes cumbersome to use, difficult to control, and inefficient for certain operations. Manual chisels are slow and inefficient, and grinding stones are not suitable for use on all materials nor are they efficient for creating certain surface profiles on various materials. Although a router can be used for creating cuts and shaping some materials (e.g., wood), it is not suitable for all materials. Also, use of a router bit is limiting because the user cannot see the bit beneath the router. Further, a router bit can build up heat when it is used for cutting or shaping some materials.
The 17 inch vertical monolith of white Colorado marble stands on a wooden base. The sculpture points to the sky and takes advantage of the stone's original shape. Standing before the sculpture you are compelled to explore the many facets, and examine the back and forth of the solid and negative elements. There are swelling contours that start at the base and change as they move up in elevation, allowing the viewer to get lost in the composition. The undulating lines and pocket recesses, as well as the polished marble with textural elements are accentuated by light and shadow. All of this allows Hines to provide complexity to the sculpture and enthralls the viewer.
On the base of the sculpture, Hines signs it with a D. G. Hines, of Casper, Wyo, and tells us it is white Colorado marble. The signature also provides clues that this had to be an early sculpture, as his later works take on more of a southwest (New Mexico, Arizona) feel, where he works more with Native American subject matter. Sometimes there are examples of auction records of his later works online under the name D. G. Hines, and during his lifetime he exhibited with galleries in Jackson, Santa Fe and Scottsdale.
Like any sculptor, having the right tool is important. Hines used his creativity to design and develop a high-speed rotary carbide tipped carving tool that could assist sculptors with cutting and shaping sculptural materials such as wood, metal, stone and plastics. It was inventive enough to be granted a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office, wherein he prepared his own drawings and an explanation of how his tool would work. He was issued his patent in 1997. It is my understanding that he used this tool mostly for his wooden sculptures.
References:
Obituaries, Casper Star Tribune, Donald Hines, August 16, 2019.
Sculptor Collector, Scottsdale, AZ, and Live Auctioneer (Clark's Fine Art, April 21, 2018).
____________________________________________
©2020. Waller-Yoblonsky Fine Art is a research collaborative, working to track artists that got lost and overlooked due to time, changing styles, race, gender and/or sexual orientation. Our frequent blogs highlight artists and art movements that need renewed attention with improved information for the researcher and art collectors. The photos and blog was created by Mr. Waller and all written materials were obtained by the Fair Use Section 107, of The Copyright Act. #waller-yoblonskyblogspot #walleryoblonskyblogspot #d.g.hines, #d.g.hinessculptor #donaldghines
Comments
Post a Comment