What started out as a hobby in high school and a passion for preserving wildlife morphed into an award-winning calling for sculptor Brent Cooke.
The Langford resident, who received a Canadian Wildlife Federation award in Ottawa recently, began carving driftwood in his teens, making many of his own tools. B次元官网网址淭he biggest problem with that is the pieces are one-offs and youB次元官网网址檙e never really able to recover the cost and the time for selling one piece at a time in that medium,B次元官网网址� he says.
That changed in 1999 when a friend suggested he look into bronze casting.
B次元官网网址淚 was instantly intrigued. Carving is art by subtraction B次元官网网址� you start with a lump and end up with a smaller product,B次元官网网址� says Cooke, who developed a keen interest in preserving wildlife along the way. B次元官网网址淲orking with clay is an additive process that provides a lot more leeway.B次元官网网址�
That process enabled him to work with thin materials that would allow for doing a sculpture of two birds in flight, for example, something he could never achieve working with wood.
Cooke starts the process for completing a bronze sculpture by creating his vision for a piece using clay. A rubber mould of the clay creation is then filled with wax and coated with a porridge-like substance that is heated and burned out, until it becomes a hard mould into which the bronze is poured.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a very expensive process,B次元官网网址� Cooke says, adding with a laugh, B次元官网网址渢hatB次元官网网址檚 why I still have my day job.B次元官网网址�
He has worked as a museum consultant since 2006, when he retired after 33 years as director of exhibits and public programs at the Royal B.C. Museum.
One of his recent consulting gigs involved designing and building a Harley-Davidson Museum on the Mainland for the legendary Trev Deeley dealership, which explains the two Harleys in the garage Cooke and his wife, Elaine, love to ride regularly.
CookeB次元官网网址檚 love for sculpting wildlife led to his involvement with Artists for Conservation (AFC) about six years ago. The organization brings together artists in various mediums who create pieces depicting wildlife seldom viewed by the masses, such as lions on the Serengeti. About 500 artists from 27 countries participate with the organization, which holds an annual show and festival in Vancouver that includes educational art and nature programs for youth.
Exhibits from the show travel to international art galleries where the pieces are sold to raise money for conservation.
B次元官网网址淥ne aspect (of Artist for Conservation) that hooked me right away is all artists contribute to a conservation-based charity of their choice, and the money raised goes directly to that organization,B次元官网网址� says Cooke, who supports the Raptor Recovery Centre in Duncan. B次元官网网址淢any of them are tiny little places doing great work. The fact that the money helps organizations large and small is really neat.B次元官网网址�
Cooke was B次元官网网址渟hocked and pleasedB次元官网网址� when notified earlier this summer that he had won the 2015 Canadian Wildlife Federation Robert Bateman award, given to groups or individuals who bring awareness to conservation through artistic works. He submitted for the award last year and didnB次元官网网址檛 make the cut, but the committee decided to take another look this year and the artist couldnB次元官网网址檛 be happier.
B次元官网网址淵ou donB次元官网网址檛 get into conservation for recognition, but itB次元官网网址檚 really nice when it happens,B次元官网网址� says Cooke. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 special as a sculptor, considering 80 per cent of the submissions are paintings.B次元官网网址�
A Medal of Excellence and Best in Show winner at the Vancouver AFC gala in 2013, he was recently named the groupB次元官网网址檚 Festival Artist Patron, following in BatemanB次元官网网址檚 shoes. Cooke has created a life-sized bronze great blue heron to be auctioned off for the cause and displayed at the AFC gala in September.
CookeB次元官网网址檚 work is on display in galleries in Sidney, Calgary and Tulsa. For a look at some of his designs, check out castartstudio.com. More information on Artists for Conservation is a few clicks away at artistsforconservation.com.
news@goldstreamgazette.com
