Glenna Goodacre's work captures an essence of humanity that reaches out, touches us and draws us to it. "People can walk up and touch it," she says. "They want to look in the eyes. They want to think about it or smile."
"...To make art well is to raise life to its highest level and to live it at its best. For me, art is a means of satisfying both the imaginative and practical demand of life--both the form and the content must be right. Sculpture gives me a means of reaching a personal goal that exists just beyond the limits of my experience. It is a form of perfection that resides outside my power of attainment.
I have always preferred a realistic, academic and classical approach to sculpture, and have been totally absorbed with the figure and the head. This attitude has never varied. With the passing of time and the new experiences of each piece, I find myself more conscious of the representation of emotion with body language and facial expression. Guided by this concept, I am becoming less involved with detail and more conscious of composition, texture and design.
My success as a sculptor was not without difficulties, but every situation provided a learning opportunity. At the age of nineteen, I allowed a college sculpture professor to convince me that I should never attempt to make sculpture. That instructor insisted I could not see three-dimensional form and gave me an unsatisfactory grade for my efforts. In retrospect, I prefer to think that the ten years after that clash gave extra time to draw and learn basic figure proportions and anatomy.
As for the next twenty-five years, I can not see myself "retiring." I intend to make more sculpture and to grow with each piece realizing the wisdom gained by experience. I hope to spend more time on each piece, but I do not foresee a change in direction. I'll always enjoy sculpting children, different ethnic types, and designing interesting monuments. Accepting new challenges, stretching new ideas, doing only the work that excites me--that is my future. I am looking forward to the next twenty-five years." Glenna Goodacre
|