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2|decemBer 2022
Julie Warren Conn Explores the
Power of Expression in Stone
Nothing I do is picture-perfect realis- tic. I would also characterize some of my work as classical, in that I work in a clas- sical way, refining by hand. So, not in the Michelangelo sense, but classical, because my approach is about craft. I never felt like you get craft without art and art without craft, and I will use anything I can to obtain a polished, refined sculpture.”
Currently, within her art, there are three divisions: direct carvings, stone drawings, and her bronzes, which are all very distinct and different, because of her level of par- ticipation in the processes.
From Stone to Bronze
“With bronze casting, I’ve already cre- ated the design in stone; molds are made of my original design in stone but the pieces are cast at a foundry firm. My next part of the production is overseeing their multi- step process at the foundry, to make cer- tain the pieces are cast with precision. I work with the patineur to make certain each one turns out to the specified color and patina. I work in an edition of nine for the bronzes, in lieu of hundreds. This pro- cess permits a form to be shared, and the low-numbered edition maintains the char- acter of the original.
“My sculpture The Founders is my larg- est bronze-casting to date. The hollow, bronze back-to-back figures are placed on a 9,000-pound block of black gran- ite, imported from India. I worked with the Georgia Granite Group in Elberton, Georgia, in August 2021, creating the free- hand drawings on the granite, and prepar- ing the base for sand-blasting the flora and fauna forms, to create the polished relief drawings. From start to finish, this mon- umental project occupied 4 years of plan- ning and work.”
Julie admits that the bronzes are cer- tainly much easier to handle than the stone, because they don’t weigh as much. “I’ve had so many back injuries; I can’t lift a lot of stone.” Julie does have her own forklift
SlIppery rock GazeTTe
Samburu (Warrior Series)
Tennessee Imperial Black Marble
25˝ Hx10˝ Wx7˝D Tennessee Black marble is the most diffi- cult to polish because all scratches must be removed. A few years ago, I decided to get back with working this native black stone, which is so beautiful. Samburu was created in 2016, a few years before my accident. It was that year that I felt I was really back in a groove, making some of my best work. I was proud that at my age I could still do it! You know the expres- sion from Proverbs, ‘Pride goeth before destruction, (and a haughty spirit before a fall.’) I was reminded of that the hard way when I seriously injured myself in 2019—
in fact, it was the worst injury of my life!
and has perfected ways to maneuver stone to avoid lifting. She has also substituted lighter, easier handling tools for her old heavier tools to get the proper finish, she continued. “The smaller tools are just as hard on my body as the big ones. The big ones just get the work done a little faster! I can still get a lot of work done without using the big heavy tools I had always used before the accident. I also don’t have any assistance now, because I’m too involved in creating as I go, and enjoying the pro- cess as I go, and I can’t turn that over to somebody. To me, it’s a very personal experience to work with a piece of stone.”
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Early on, Julie was inspired by many 1940s and 1950s-era sculptors including Barbara Hepworth, Constantin Brancusi, and Henry Moore, who she visited in England. “Henry Moore was in his 80’s, and had a blanket over his lap, holding one of his ink drawings, and a glass of sherry on the table beside him. He was open and friendly as we began chatting. It was so amazing to talk to him, and a very exciting moment for me.”
She was also heavily inspired by Michelangelo, she continued. “I read The Agony and the Ecstasy before I started on an 18,000-pound block of Tennessee mar- ble. It was during my early career, and as I worked the stone with my electric tools, I remember laying my head on this huge block thinking, if Michelangelo can do it with a hammer and chisel, with all of these tools and some extra help, surely, I can do it. There were also many times I laid my head down on the stone, crying, ‘Who’s gonna win, Rock – you or me?’ ”
A Career in Flux
Currently living in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, Philip, Julie contin- ues to immerse herself in work at her stu- dio in Winchester, located about 13 miles due east of Lexington. The large studio includes a show room for her sculptures. She’s there working most week days, when she’s not traveling.
Her passion continues to drive her, and she still delights in the challenge of taking a block of stone, drawing lines and sawing, grinding and chipping away. At age 79, it is an intuitive process, she said, adding, “I’ve been doing it so long, the stone will pretty much lead me. If I’m working figu- ratively, I’ll take a different approach by conceiving it in my mind, laying out a plan and trying to develop it. Most often these pieces are highly refined, requiring double the amount of time to polish or to rough- out the form. They sometimes include textural contrast, but overall, I finish and polish the whole stone. The piece may sug- gest figures, it may suggest animal forms. So, it’s figurative, but extremely abstract.
Racing With the Wind
“Stone drawings have become an important part of my work. I began using this technique in the early nineties. These are created on black granite to obtain the best contrast, and many of the drawings are used architecturally in many commissioned walls in Knoxville (Second Presbyterian Church, Cokesbury Family Life Center, the KUB Building, Morristown City Hall, and others). I also collaborate with a blacksmith in Kentucky to develop tables, ped- estals, etc. to support the stone drawings for use as more functional pieces in the office or home. This 30-inch disc is currently displayed on a wrought iron pedestal.”
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