I've been making these outdoor figure sculptures for about 5 years now. I started them when I found this wonderful, locally available, extremely hard and weather resistant locust wood. I also came upon a process of working with wood that felt a lot like drawing—I was able to create a form by adding one "mark" to another. I felt comfortable with this way of slowly building up a form, tentatively discovering it as I went. I enjoy combining found pieces with a deliberate band saw cutting of shapes and saving the scraps to eventually add later as found shapes. Assembling them with deck screws not only makes them strong but also allows "erasing" and modifying when necessary. When I finish building a figure I sand it all with a disc sander and stain them to unify the surface, preserve them and suggest something with color that relates to the theme.
A human doing something works well for me as subject matter because I am interested in human purpose, intent, desire, faith and hope. My figures are usually trying to figure things out—or at work doing something useful or positive. I don't intend any answers but I do believe that art can help us ask questions regarding how we should live.
This "Pilgrim" is on his way. He has left home to search for home. He is walking in that in between land—that "grayland". He is sure about two things—he must keep moving, and he will recognize his destination when he finds it.
Artist's Comments
A human doing something works well for me as subject matter because I am interested in human purpose, intent, desire, faith and hope. My figures are usually trying to figure things out—or at work doing something useful or positive. I don't intend any answers but I do believe that art can help us ask questions regarding how we should live.
This "Pilgrim" is on his way. He has left home to search for home. He is walking in that in between land—that "grayland". He is sure about two things—he must keep moving, and he will recognize his destination when he finds it.
About the Artist
Brouwer earned an MA in Painting and an MFA in Sculpture from Western Michigan University. He has taught Art at Fig Tree High Public School in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia; Kalamazoo Christian High School in Portage, Michigan; and Radford University in Radford, Virginia. Brouwer retired from teaching in order to make and exhibit art full time in 2008.
Currently Charlie and his wife live in Floyd County in the Blue Ridge Mountains of rural SW Virginia in a 100 year old farmhouse they have renovated. His home consists of nine acres of open fields and woods, with 20 outdoor sculptures placed along a 1/2 mile walking trail, surround the house and studio. Charlie calls their place "Out There" because of its remote location but, also because he believes that art can point us towards thoughts, feelings, and meanings beyond our immediate experience.