Early Wire Sculpture

The first sculpture is my first wire sculpture. I was a seventh grader nearing the end of the school year. My art teacher, Mr. Love wanted me to try something new/different. He pointed to a bundle of 16 gauge hay baling wire and said see what you can do with that. I started with the rearing horse and then did the man and spear. I had seen similar poses in books displaying the paintings of the old masters.

This sculpture is 11 inches tall, 16 gauge steel wire mounted to a piece of black walnut. 

Fighting Horses I did this sculpture in February of 1973. I moved to California in the middle of my junior year in High School. After a few weeks in class with my new art teacher, Mr. Walsh, he said to me "Thakar, I hear a lot of talk, but what can you actually do?"

I asked "Do you have any wire?" So we went into the storage room and found two spools of copper wire. I asked him to give me a couple of days. Three or four days later I had just finished the darker horse. It still needed a mane and tail. Mr. Walsh came over and picked it up turned it over a few times and said "Thakar, you're impressing the hell out of me." The second horse was a little tougher because the wire was much thicker.