Slippery Rock Gazette

Peter Marcucci

Photos by Peter Marcucci and Courtesy Andreas von Huene

To mount this cantilevered sculpture, Andreas drilled a 39-inch-deep hole and inserted a machined steel sleeve in the right wing. One end of a 2-inch-thick steel bar was tapered down to 1 inch and then inserted into the bird, while the 2-inch end was inserted into a rock base.

A stone artist since 1991, Andreas von Huene resides in Arrowsic, a small town located along Maine’s southern coastline. Bath, a neighboring coastal town and financial mainstay of the area, is just a stone’s throw from Arrowsic, and was one of the first settlements in New England. 

Bath Iron Works, a shipbuilder founded in 1884 and located on the Kennebec River, nourished the area’s economy until 1909, when shipbuilding slowed. And like the tides that ebbed and flowed throughout the centuries, so ebbed and flowed the area’s economy until 1914, as the dawning of World War l demanded ships — lots of ships. Again, money flowed into the area as the warships sailed out to defend distant lands across the sea. 

Around this same time, Bath had become the end of the line for the railroad that served the shipbuilding, fishing, timber and farming enterprises that dotted Maine’s coastline. Upriver stood huge bays of freshwater where ice was harvested, packed in sawdust and loaded onto ships bound for all destinations. 

By the time World War I ended in 1918, so did the need for warships. As the economy ebbed again, Bath became a ghost town until the early 1940s when war again raged in distant lands. America was going to war once again, and the money again flowed into the area — this time for nearly a decade... 

Drive is a fusion of movement using a  beautiful banded quartzite and a richly-grained hardwood on a stainless steel base.

Above: This granite bench installed at the Patten Free Library was carved from Jonesboro Pink, quarried in Jonesboro, Maine by J.C. Stone, in Jefferson, Maine. “Jonesboro Pink is the hardest stone I know of and holds a polish very well,” said von Huene.

Above: Der Traum der Weise, a sandstone stela sculpture produced at a symposium in Mauren, Germany.

Above: This overhead photo of Andreas’ shop shows an eclectic collection of tools and machines, and speaks volumes of his life and legacy of creation. “Ever since I was little I liked engines and machinery, and still do.”

Creativity Inspired

“My love of creating began at age eight, while working in my father’s shop,” explained Andreas von Huene. “Bath was a ghost town when I was growing up. The economy was weak, so we moved to Boston where the shop started in the apartment hallway. My dad had a small lathe to make musical instruments, and just being allowed to use it was great. Even better, I got to hang out with him a lot.

“Years later, my parents bought a building close by. I could walk to the shop after school and pick up a project, sweep the floors, or watch the craftsmen who worked with the exotic woods that smelled good while being shaped. This combination of sights and sounds and smell of the grinder burning up (just kidding, but it happened) was wonderful. My father’s colleagues were especially kind to me. I also learned to feel strongly about making things that respected the beauty of the natural materials we used whether in natural form or processed.

 “I also saw the respect with which tools were used — and made! So early on I had very positive associations with people who made things.” 

Creativity Elevated

Von Huene continued his engineering studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, and ten years later attended Stanford University working toward a masters degree in engineering, Andreas soon switched to the school’s product design program which combined engineering and art design. In his own words he received the call to not just concentrate on difficult tasks, but to combine thoughts and understanding. Eventually he could flip the time spent doing tedious work such as polishing stone into a rhythm that let him simultaneously think outside the box.

“Engineering extends into my art all the time,” Andreas continued. “The manufacturing, the moving and the understanding of how things move or rotate are universal skills, and I make a point of understanding everything on a jobsite to predict what is going to happen. Do I want it rotating, static, hanging or cantilevered? The engineering discipline builds mental flexibility, which is of great value in any creative endeavor. Good concentration is also important to sticking with getting a form while carving, and to support that sculpture to its best effect when finished.

“There is a funny point in sculpting; let’s take stone, for example. There’s a point where you have a rough shape, an intermediate shape and then a wonderful stage when everything is starting to pull together and the character of the piece is coming out. You’re able to identify some hints from your efforts, while mistakes also inform you of the character of the work. Then there’s the stage when it’s a dance of every tool. You’re still taking some big deep cuts with a gas saw here and cuts with smaller tools there and magic is happening. There is no word in English that correctly identifies this place that is both work and joy. This is a high level of living for me.” 

Soaring Above

I asked Andreas, “So what is your art and what are you thinking while carving?”

 “There are people that say I’m all about flow and energy flow,” he continued. “Sometimes that is true — sometimes not; I do so many different things. I do enjoy building character into the work as if I’m engaging the piece, but I don’t want to overstate that. There are lots of pieces that seem to have no character unless you happen to like that kind of work. Then you groove on it. On each piece I like to have the large forms, the small forms, the surfaces, and the craftsmanship available to the viewer. I also like the contrast between organic shapes and geometric shapes. Combined they are very powerful. I also adapt my art to the project that comes into my heart. I cannot say there is just one thread that goes through my work, except that I try to have decent craftsmanship. After all, I grew up in a shop making recorders and flutes that had to be right on the money acoustically and aesthetically. So my process of discovery is retold by sculpting both figurative and abstract work with their different rules.  

“What kinds of things are going through my mind when I’m carving? A lot of it is shape, such as in the beginning while getting the basic proportions right. Using light, you can see how certain shadows indicate a form, and if I’m in good form, I’ll be paying attention to not just the shape, but the shapes of the shadows, highlights and the gestures of the pose. Sometimes it’s the slightest bit of shaving that makes all the difference. I’ll shave off 1/16 inch, and all of a sudden the form will read correctly. Good craftsmanship is a delight, and therefore permission to go deeper into understanding what the art is about. Conversely, bad craftsmanship negates all the good work by tripping you up as you observe the art.    

“What is my art is a tough question to answer. As soon as someone starts to define it, you just turn your ears off, because immediately you can find something that contradicts what they are saying. In terms of artistic endeavor, there are several challenges such as qualities of vision and execution and relevance of the art. Having a friendly opposition (friendly colleagues and critics) giving feedback is of great value, even if only for the learning opportunities. The distinction between doing and thinking bedevils those of us who have such strong urges to make things. It means we also ought to be earnestly thinking about what to do. 

“Our society wants us to be seen doing. If you are seen to be daydreaming, you are considered to be wasting time. But the dreaming and thinking and the conjuring up of visions is such a crucial major part of what we do, and it demands that we hold at bay all the pulls on our time from x, y and z tasks.” 

Marketing, Sales and Everything in Between

“The most powerful tool I operate is a telephone,” he continued. “The biggest problem so many sculptors face in terms of business is the marketing and the cost in dollars or time spent on that marketing. There seems to be a glass ceiling between most sculpture sales which I think are based on regional reputation, while high-end national and international sales are based on a whole different system. I’ve heard of corporate style marketing offices employed by sculptors with great reputations, but I like to think that a quality sculpture will sell itself, so we need to keep pushing quality and artistic merit. The gallery scene can work well, too, and also word of mouth, but how many conversations can you have before you feel you need to get back to hands-on work?  Oh, the balancing act! 

Above: Andreas von Huene and colleague Dan Ucci (at left) installing Owl Rising at Laudholm Farm in Wells, Maine. Photo by Carolyn Broad. Inset: Roughing in Owl Rising with a chop saw.

Above: Cantilevered Owl II

Above: Cloud Fountain in Blue Macauba

Above: Now the cornerstone of Acadia Hospital, Maine artist Andreas von Huene’s Zephyr is unveiled by Hospital President and CEO Dan Coffey and Max Kagan Family Foundation representative Leslie Kagan.

Above: Gyrfalcon in feldspar granite, wings folded to dive.

“Who was it said that when businessmen get together they talk about art, and when artists get together they talk about business? This is a constant theme of discussion among my colleagues. I also believe that being in one area long enough has made connections for me that have paid off,  it’s been 27 years, and I’ve been very busy. 

“So why am I trying to sell art in Maine? I should be trying to sell art in Florida, Texas, LA or New York City. But my sales go through my local connections, and I’m not going to get those connections in New York. You have to make those connections and those connections have to be in a big enough pool with big enough connections. The other side of it is that I have, to some extent, the freedom to chase my dreams, but I have to blend that with being able to sell something. So I cannot chase every flight of fancy or carve something on speculation, and then wonder who’s going to buy it. I have to carve something that is going to be interesting to somebody. 

“Sculpture symposiums let me break that rule. They offer me the opportunity to go big, yet spend only a short amount of time. That to me is another form of artistic freedom where I can give up just a couple of weeks to do something that is more adventurous. I’ve sold things I’ve carved at symposiums for good money, and that helped pay for more mainstream projects. We have a lot of sculpture shows in Maine, and I get a lot of exposure from them.” 

Working Wide and Large 

As an artist, marketing in itself seems to be an art, but what impressed me most is the way Andreas finds a work-around to any situation. He, like most artists, is resourceful and inventive, always finding a way to flesh out a new design and make it work no matter what the circumstances or genre. So I thought it fair to ask him how he classifies his art. 

“I have a wide range of interests and also a rich environment of tools, materials, shapes, forms and colors to choose from,” he responded. “I think it is difficult for my clients and my peers, because they tell me that I’m so inventive saying, ‘Will you stop being so inventive and just settle down on a theme!’ I tell them, I’m not dead yet, you know! The world is full of interesting things. 

“I like working large, but I also like imbuing large pieces with really tight details. I enjoy what’s called the “wall of sound”; an expression coined by a ‘70s rock and roll band with a wall of speakers blasting and every frequency being represented. Some bands it’s the high guitars wailing — some bands it’s the wummpa thummpas of the lows — but I like to offer the full range on a piece, so that no matter who looks at it, there is something in it for them such as the detail of an eyeball or the shape of a wing. I may not always succeed, but I try.” 

Soaring Beyond

“So where do you step on the gas and where do you not step on the gas?” he continued. “Capability doesn’t necessarily mean you should do it — although if I can, I want to! Watch this, I say when somebody doesn’t think I can do it, but I get myself into trouble when I do that. For example: a few years ago I did Banking Owl with a six-foot wingspan that stood cantilevered off the wingtip. Finished, it was 450 pounds. So there was some technical work there such as how do I support it without breaking the wing off. And because the client liked realism, I did a lot of feather work such as polishing, refining and detailing. It is disturbing in that there is nothing above or below to support it. So it looks very realistic!

“The next year I saw this beautiful bubble of a rock that was rough-cut and the end of a huge boulder. It was 2-1/2 feet wide by 6 feet long of this beautiful dark stone. I took it home and made another owl with an almost six-foot wingspan. I allowed myself not to do the feathers, but to do the airfoil form more, and really crank the wings and sculpt it so that it’s really moving fast and banking into a turn. That is a very powerful sculpture! Each owl is different, and it was a pleasure to be able to work with such beautiful material that cut and polished well and let me go with the flow. I’ve also done projects in quartzite, marble, limestone, basalt, granite, alabaster and others. Each offers its own special character and working characteristics. So why would I want to carve anything else?” 

Closing Words of Wisdom from a Master

“I think our culture’s commercial nature is set up to anticipate what you want, then offer you the solution in a little gift-wrapped package, but what you really want should be on the wish list in your back pocket, not on the shelf at your store. The corollary to that is what do you wish for the most? 

“The most wonderful thing you can get in life is a worthy challenge. People ask me, ‘Andreas, can you make this for me?‘ ’ ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ I’ll say, ‘but I’ll sure try!’ That’s better than me saying, ‘Oh sure, I’ll just knock that off.’ The question is stronger than the answer. So when beginning something new, do it, adjust to it, and do it some more. Moreover, be friends with other sculptors. Don’t be an island. Visit and talk to other artists. Doing that will give you courage. The number one thing is to have courage and go for it. That’s hard, but it is rewarding!”

Currently the Arrowsic and Bath economies are quite good, harboring scores of thriving shops and restaurants, while Bath Iron Works continues to produce very low numbers of very expensive ships per year, such as a stealth destroyer I witnessed being fitted for duty during my visit. The area also supports a robust tourist industry featuring vacation homes and dining. How long it will last is anybody’s guess, but one thing is for sure: the economy will continue to ebb and flow with the decades. As for Andreas, he continues to push the limits of his craft above and beyond. 

For more information please visit www.andreasvonhuene.com .

Above, Left: Life-size Rufous Screech Owl in Gouldsboro Pink granite.  Above, Middle: Portrait in bronze of Friedrich von Huene, Andreas’ father (Photo by Dennis Griggs).