Gordon Derry WHAT Sculpture and Carving in Shed Antlers and Wood WHERE Runestone Vale Studio,1897 Rosetta Road, Lanark, 256-0129 Keffer Gallery, 128 Queen St., Almonte, 256-2676 www.runestonevale.com SHOWS Rosetta Road Artists Open Studio Weekend, Aug. 10 & 11 Inroads Studio Tour, Aug. 31-Sept. 2 Crown & Pumpkin Studio Tour, Clayton area, Thanksgiving Weekend Amaryllis Artisans Christmas Show, Carleton Place, Nov. 15-17 WHY "For me it's a calling." Previous Artist Trading Cards

Gordon Derry - Go With the Flow
by Sally Hansen

Gordon Derry's sculptural pieces in wood and shed antlers are the serendipitous outcome of the artist's lifelong attentiveness to the spirituality of nature. "For me, it's a calling. I can't help doing creative things that hopefully reveal a message about living in harmony with and learning from nature."

Derry uses organic materials found in nature to create art that is closely linked to the natural world. His pieces range from small carved antler pendants, pins, amulets, spoons, knives and figurines to much larger pieces, usually in wood, such as masks, statues, and Runestaffs. He works intuitively, letting images emerge from interesting shapes and provocative grains as he carves. As he puts it, "The pieces evolve from nature, rather than from me imposing a predetermined image. A piece of antler or chunk of wood becomes a spiritual doorway for the imagination, beckoning us back to a time when we lived in closer harmony with nature."

The Pursuit of Harmony

Derry describes a meandering journey to arrive at the stage of connectedness and belonging he feels at Runestone Vale - his home and studio for the past ten years in the Lanark Highlands of eastern Ontario. He remembers wanting to live in the country since he was a kid growing up in the suburbs of Toronto. He also remembers drawing and painting all the time. At the age of 12 he received his first remuneration for his art: $3.00 at a CNE Children's Art Exhibition, and he got to keep the painting.

But he got caught up in practicality and went off to university to study mathematics. When math proved too dry for his liking, he switched to philosophy and got into music as well, playing guitar and keyboards and composing. Always interested in fantasy literature, Derry immersed himself in research into legend and mythology, studying the folk cultures, art and literature of many lands.

After university he worked in publishing, researching and writing about myths, legends, magical worlds and symbols. He also did a ten-year stint in the health food retail business, and worked as a carpenter and a tradesman. Throughout, he took courses and workshops on carving, sculpture, fine woodworking, photography and graphic art.

In Tune

An accomplished woodworker, in 1982 he tried carving and sculpting in wood, and realised he had found his calling. But it wasn't until he discovered his true medium - shed antler, that he knew he wanted to sculpt full time. (Deer, moose and elk shed their antlers every spring, so Derry's harvesting of these found objects is compatible with his goal of causing as little harm as possible to all living things.) He occasionally incorporates a specimen of "fossil ivory" into a piece. Darker and richer in colour than elephant ivory, this is the ancient tusk of the extinct woolly mammoth found in the tundra of northern Canada.

Although there is a long tradition in many folk cultures of carving antler into jewellery and functional objects, there was no one nearby from whom he could learn, nor could he find books on the subject. So he taught himself, experimenting, devising tools and techniques, and always letting the natural features of the antler guide his hands. From years of effort and experimentation, he has perfected an "antique" patina that brings out the fine detail of carving he is known for.

His love for and knowledge of folk art and myth are wondrously evident in his carvings. They are strongly influenced by Celtic art and myth, Norse lore and carvings, and Slavic designs and legends. Common themes include tree spirits, Runes and Norse gods, forest guardians and goblins, animal spirit guides and fantasy creatures inspired by Tolkien, Lovecraft and Lewis. But it is Derry's personal connection to the spiritual traditions of native North Americans and shamans worldwide that sets many of his works apart. "I know a carving is finished when I can sit back, look at it and feel that it is truly alive; in this way, the antler or tree spirit has come full circle."

Downstream

A generous number of opportunities are coming up to see Gordon Derry's carvings and sculptures in the next few months. On August 10th and 11th, Gordon is joining with three other artists (Deb Shea, Greta McDonald and Laura Malcolm) to offer an Open Studio Weekend at adjacent studios at 1897 and 1901 Rosetta Road, 15 minutes west of Almonte (south off of Wolf Grove Road). Plus, Ellen Derry will be offering Rune fortune telling, with all proceeds going to the Lanark Food Bank. For those of you interested in learning what a Rune is, or locating a map to his studio, Derry has developed an attractive and very informative website at www.runestonevale.com.

He is also participating in the Inroads Studio Tour from Aug. 31-Sept. 2nd, and the Crown & Pumpkin Studio Tour Thanksgiving weekend. A selection of his work is available at the Keffer Gallery in Almonte.