A few years ago our well pump short circuited and had to be replaced. The well is 509 feet deep and is powered through 3 10-gauge copper leads. The company replacing the pump and wire charged us $568 for the new wire and told me I wouldn’t have to worry about disposing the old wire. I thanked them and told them I already had plans for the old wire. The horse on the left in this sculpture used about 1,200 feet of that old wire.
The horse on the right is 16-gauge steel baling wire. The finish work is 41” wide, 12” deep, and 32” tall including the base. It weighs about 120 lbs.
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This horse stands at the entrance of our driveway like a Sentry. The large oak tree that stood on this stump was dying so we had it cut down. I told Jane that I should use the stump as the base for a sculpture. About seven years later I finally did it. I started it in the fall of 2014 with a goal of completing it in time for my daughter Rebecca's wedding in the middle of May. I actually finished it in March and had it up in time for her bridal shower.
The armature is made of two 5/8 inch and three 1/2 inch grounding rods. The rest of the sculpture is 1/4 inch aluminium rods. It stands about 6 1/2 above the top of the stump. and weighs about 150 pounds. I chose aluminium because it is basically weather proof.
This first sculpture is called Rythum. My daughters bought UC Fascinatin' Rythum in 2001 as a two-year-old. One day when she was seven or eight I just happened to look out the window to see her kicking her back legs into the air. I did this sculpture while the image was still fresh in my mind. This sculpture stands 30 inches tall and weighs about 70 pounds. It is made of recycled steel baling wire.
The next three sculptures were all done as gifts. The second horse I call Haywire. The name is significant for three reasons: It is the first I made form recycled hay baling wire reclaimed from hay bales used on our horse farm; When a horse rears like this something has gone "haywire;" And finally, when I was constructing this horse the back legs gave out and the sculpture fell forward on my work bench. I had to unravel the structure to the middle to put in a stronger armature for the back legs. Laying there all undone it truly was "haywire." It is just over 36 inches tall and is mounted on a polished piece of white marble. I gave this one to my lovely wife.
This third horse was done as a thank you gift for my mother. I call it Haywire 2. It's about 24 inches tall and is mounted to a block of mahogany repurposed from a table leaf. It is made of recycled steel baling wire.
The last sculpture on this page is call Silver Steed. It is about 22" tall and like the others, it's made of recycled steel baling wire. The difference here that it has been polished. It is mounted to a block of yellow oak. I gave this to my daughter Rebecca's mother and father in-law, in California, to thank them for providing such wonderful care for her during her battle with cancer.
This is my first wire sculpture. I was a seventh grader nearing the end of the school year. My art teacher, Mr. Love wanted me to try something new/different. He pointed to a bundle of 16 gauge hay baling wire and said see what you can do with that. I started with the rearing horse and then did the man and spear. I had seen similar poses in books displaying the paintings of the old masters.
This sculpture is 11 inches tall, 16 gauge steel wire mounted to a piece of black walnut.
I learned to work with metal in Eighth grade. A couple of years earlier my parents added a 4 foot square glass and chrome coffee table to our living room. After a few months my father said to me that he had never seen a sculpture of a sinking ship. So I planned this first metal sculpture to fit under that table.
The second sculpture is the eagle from the back of a U. S. quarter.
Both of these sculptures are brazed steel.
I did this sculpture in February of 1973. I moved to California in the middle of my junior year in High School. After a few weeks in class with my new art teacher, Mr. Walsh, he said to me "Thakar, I hear a lot of talk, but what can you actually do?" I asked "do you have any wire?" So we went into the storage room and found two large spools of copper wire. I asked him to give me a couple of days. Three or four days later I had just finished the darker horse. It still needed a mane and tail. Mr. Walsh came over and picked it up turned it over a few times and said "Thakar, you're impressing the hell out of me." The second horse was a little tougher because the wire was much thicker.
Lena was my father's mother. He had asked me to do a bust of her. I was still in college. I had a photographer friend take pictures for me. The head of Cal Poly's Art Department had done some amazing busts. He gave me a few tips on working with clay. This bust stands 9 inches tall and is made of gray clay.
Shortly after my father died, while I was visiting CA, my mother asked me to take it home. I’m sure seeing my Grandmother every day brought back too many unpleasant memories.
