I met Lonnie, a local artist,  a few years ago at an art festival and fell in love with his wood and stone sculptures.  Not only is Lonnie an award winning  sculptor but his two dimensional art work is also crazy good.   I would like to thank Lonnie for taking the time to do this interview.

nwflaa – Tell us a little about yourself.

Lonnie – I  grew up in the Tennessee River bottomland in a little river boat town called Savannah, TN. We lived way out in the country and our road was just a dirt/gravel road when I was little. I recall the day that the county paved it and how the smell of asphalt wafted in the air. It was a fine road once it was topped, really great for bike riding. I would ride up to the top of the hill and start down with as much speed as I could muster. Then, I’d let go of the handle- bars and hold my arms up in the air over my head. It was always a fun ride. I suppose my childhood was about like any of the other kids living in the rural countryside. My friends, cousins and I would run and romp through woods, skinny dip in the river in the summers, build forts in the hay barn and enjoy the snow-cream in the winters when we had big snowfalls.

Lonnie Working in the Studio

I Am Soul in the Wind

nwflaa – When or how did you first know you wanted to become an artist?

Lonnie – I’ve always loved to draw and even today drawing is one of my favorite creative activities. Mom would cut pieces of brown paper bags for me, or give me the white pieces of cardboard from her stocking packages that I could use for my drawings. My first drawings were of birds, chickens, and other animals. Living out in the country I focused on the natural things around me that I saw everyday. When I entered into high school I majored in art. It was there that I decided to choose a career in the visual arts. I knew it was unlikely that I would be able to put food on the table and pay bills as a young working artist, so I chose to go into the field of art education. That way I would be able to further develop my artistic skills, work with other people interested in art, serve the community, and provide a decent living for myself. Then I planned to retire and become a full-time artist. It’s amazing, but my childhood dream of being a working artist has come true.

nwflaa – Who or what is or has been your greatest inspiration?

Lonnie – I’ve always been in awe of nature and how life operates best within a narrow point of balance between forces. The motion and movements of plants, animals, birds, fish, and people are fascinating to watch and to interpret in visual art forms. I have also found that “listening within” has become a tremendous creative resource for me. The gentle nudges of spirit are a significant source of energy and inspiration that I try to incorporate in my artwork.

nwflaa – Knowing that you are not only a sculptor but also a painter, what is your preferred medium?

Lonnie – My preferred creative activity is still drawing, though I don’t do it often enough. I enjoy it most because of its directness and its sense of immediacy. Holding a drawing tool and making marks that are a reflection of my inner feelings is a way of working in the moment, and I love that. One can achieve that through other mediums too, but with many other materials there are usually additional processes that can become a distraction for me in my work. I’m sometimes not very good with delayed gratification.

Fair Lady Walking in the Wind

Young Family

nwflaa – Which of your pieces are your favorites and why?

Lonnie – I do have certain pieces that I enjoy being around more than others. They seem to embody a spirit that I connect with on many levels of awareness. Some of them are my current wood/stone sculptures, some are drawings, and some are paintings. Perhaps they are my favorites because I achieved a stronger sense of balance in those artworks. By balance I’m not just referring to the physical equilibrium of the materials, as much as the total experience of energies that are involved in their creation, and that they emit as art forms. Quality artworks help to extend the viewer’s attention beyond the ordinary by encouraging a viewer to visit various levels of their own consciousness. The appreciation of art requires a variety of thought processes and is not a passive activity. However, most viewers do not understand those concepts and simply expect the artwork to do something to them as they look at it.

nwflaa – How do you know when a piece is finished?

Lonnie – It’s not always easy to know when to stop working on a piece. As with life, there’s always another level of awareness to explore. Sometimes the medium dictates the stopping point and other times the artist’s skill level is the determining factor. Especially in my wood and stone sculptures, I like to leave a little for the viewer to finish in their own consciousness. There’s a distinct relationship between the artist, the artwork, and the viewer. That’s another level of balance that must be considered in the crafting and the appreciation of an artwork. Each art form that I am engaged with speaks in a different voice and I find that I have to listen very carefully.

nwflaa – As an artist, who has won countless awards and accolades, what advice do you have for aspiring artists?

Lonnie - Creativity is not something that can be turned on with the flip of a switch at any point in time. An artist must have time to develop skills in using materials, to explore ideas, to make mistakes and learn from them, to build a sense of confidence and certainty about their work. I was told a story by one of my art professors in college. He knew an artist who was commissioned to do a brush and ink drawing of some fish. The customer, who had made a down payment on the work, waited for a year on the commission and still had not heard from the artist. Finally, out of frustration, the customer went over to the artist’s studio and demanded the artwork. The artist pulled out a piece of paper and in about five minutes created exactly what the outraged customer wanted. “Why have you waited a year to do this when it only took you five minutes to make this one?” the customer asked. The artist calmly walked over to a drawer and pulled out a stack of over 100 papers filled with brush and ink drawings of fish. “It took me a year to develop my skills and to explore the possibilities for the artwork you wanted,” said the artist. I’ve never forgotten that story, and I have often used it in my art classes as an example to students about what it takes to be a working artist. Our customers and patrons are not just buying our physical art forms– they are also paying for our years of knowledge, experience, and skills as artisans.

Lonnie in the Studio

Check out some of Lonnies other work at
Artistoneastbay.com.