H.R. KAISER
ARTIST STATEMENT
"Sculpting is revitalizing and rebalancing for me and has made a vast change in how I experience life. I see and sense strength in spirit and want to capture that in my work to share with others. This is a second career for me and I am fortunate to have a strong support system that has allowed me to push the refresh button on the story of my life and gain a stronger focus on what matters and why. It is soul nourishing and energizing.
In broad strokes, with my current focus on the iconic cowboy of our past, I envision what it might have been like right here in Oklahoma, home to several historic cattle trails, including the famous Chisholm Trail. I often find myself looking across the plains to see where the drovers might have made camp and bed down the herd for the night.
My fundamental inspiration springs from the people and places that surround me. My goal is to capture the layers of attitude, emotion and personality of cowboys in everyday life and translate that into a visual feast that appeals on a visceral level.
I continue to study through intensive professional workshops and have learned to root out strong design elements, look for patterns of dark and light, shadow and form and how the lines intersect. I am committed to artistic excellence and lifelong improvement, to never settle, never be content with my work as there is always a higher peak to reach." ~H.R. Kaiser
29"H x 35"W x 16"D, Lt. Edition of 10
Bronze, 26" H x 18" W x 11" D, Lt. Edition of 25 At the hand of greed and desire for expansion treaties between the United States government and Native American Indians were made then modified, broken or simply not honored by the government. The Native Americans were cheated out of their land, resources and traditional way of life leaving intense feelings of mistrust.
BRONZE, Limited Edition of 10, 28"H x 17.5"W x 10"D
BRONZE, Edition of 15 41" H x 14" W x 16" D
Bronze, 25" H x 15" W x 9.5" D, Lt. Edition of 15 She is a proud woman, a good builder, a good warrior, a good hunter and master craftswoman. She is highly regarded by her tribe and is essential to the survival of the tribe. She cooked and gathered and raised the children. There was a mutual feeling of respect between the men and women of the tribe.
BRONZE, Edition of 35 19" H x 13" W x 9" D
BRONZE, Edition of 30 22 1/2" H x 17" W x 16" D Wherever the buffalo flourished the Indians flourished. After the Civil War the government realized as long as this food source was available it would be difficult to get the Indians to move to the reservations allowing for westward expansion. Colonel Dodge said in 1867, “Every buffalo dead is an Indian gone.” The army then let hunters use their forts as bases of operation. The hunters slaughtered buffalo in staggering numbers.
BRONZE, Edition of 30 21" H x 13" W x 10" D The ultimate machismo for a man to distinguish himself as a great warrior was not in killing the enemy but to count coup on a live enemy and retreat without injury. Counting coup meant to strike the enemy with a coup stick, bow or the hand Many accounts of tribal battles relate tales of particularly brave warriors that counted coup on the enemy without killing them.
BRONZE, Edition of 35 24" H x 13.5" W x 11.5" D *GRAND PRIZE WINNER, American Women Artists - Spring online Juried Show 2015; *SILVER MEDAL WINNER - Bosque Art Classic 2015; *WINNER OF THE SCULPTURE SUPPLIES AWARD, Art of the Plains Show: *Winner of the Women Artists of the West Online; *ALL SCULPTURE SHOW Third Place
BRONZE, Edition of 35 24" H x 13.5" W x 11.5" D *GRAND PRIZE WINNER, American Women Artists - Spring online Juried Show 2015; *SILVER MEDAL WINNER - Bosque Art Classic 2015; *WINNER OF THE SCULPTURE SUPPLIES AWARD, Art of the Plains Show: *Winner of the Women Artists of the West Online; *ALL SCULPTURE SHOW Third Place
BRONZE, Edition of 35 23.5" H x 14" W x 10" D In the Sioux Civil Societies the White Horse riders society members were mostly mature warriors who had earned the right to paint their horses for the warpath or parades. White horses were chosen for two reasons: white was regarded as a genuinely spiritual color and white horses were the only ones on which the coup marks and symbols would show well.
BRONZE, Edition of 35 22.5" H x 17" W x 13" D Winner of N.A.W.A. Sculptural Visons in 3D
BRONZE, Edition of 35 22.5" H x 17" W x 13" D Winner of N.A.W.A. Sculptural Visons in 3D
BRONZE, Edition of 30 18" H x 24" W x 12" D
BRONZE, Edition of 30 26.5" H x 24" W x 21" D *CLYDE HERON AWARD WINNER, Art of the Plains Show
BRONZE, Edition of 35 16.5" H x 11" D
BRONZE, Edition of 35 16" H x 9.5" W
BRONZE, Edition of 30 16.5" H x 24" W x 18" D
BRONZE, Edition of 35, 12" H
BRONZE, Edition of 50, 13" H *Winner of the Women Artists of the West, Online ALL SCULPTURE SHOW, Second Place
BRONZE, Limited Edition 12.5" H x 11.5" W x 9" D
The Trail Drover Series
Cattle drives were a major economic activity in the American west, particularly between 1866 and 1886, when 20 million cattle were herded from Texas to railheads in Kansas for shipments to stockyards in Chicago and points east. The long distances covered, the need for periodic rests by riders and animals, and the establishment of railheads led to the development of "cow towns" across the American West
The typical drive comprised 1,500–2,500 head of cattle. The typical outfit consisted of a “Trail Boss”, (perhaps the owner), from ten to fifteen hands, each of whom had a string of from five to ten horses; a “Horse Wrangler” who handled the horses; and a cook, who drove the chuck wagon. The wagon carried the bedrolls; tents were considered excess luxury. The men drove and grazed the cattle most of the day, herding them by relays at night. Ten or twelve miles was considered a good day's drive, as the cattle had to thrive on the route. They ate grass; the men had bread, meat, beans with bacon, and coffee. Wages were about $40 a month, paid when the herd was sold.
During three decades the “Trail Drovers” had moved over 20 million cattle and one million range horses, stamped the entire West with its character, given economic and personality prestige to Texas, made the longhorn historic, glorified the cowboy over the globe, and endowed America with its most romantic tradition relating to any occupation.
BRONZE, Edition of 12 15" H x 17" W x 24" D The Trail Boss ~ Trail Drover Series *Winner of the Winter Oklahoma Sculpture Society Show 2012
BRONZE, Edition of 12 16.5" H x 14" W x 20.5" D Chuck Wagon Master ~ Trail Drover Series
BRONZE, Edition of 12 11.75" H x 9" W x 18.5" D Trail Drover Series
BRONZE, Edition of 12 14.5" H x 15" W x 20" D The Point Man ~ Trail Drover Series
SOLD OUT EDITIONS
BRONZE, Edition of 12 16" H x 14" W x 17" D Horse Wrangler ~ Trail Drover Series