Branching out of the ordinary ...

Published July 27, 2006   3:59 pm   

Credit: Kat Lamp/Special to Go Triad

Tree collages are a specialty of artist Ralph Calhoun. (see art above)

Ralph Calhoun is a member of the Associated Artists of Winston-Salem and regularly exhibits with the organization at 301 W. Fourth St. in Winston-Salem. Call 722-0340 or visit www.associatedartists.org.

Ralph Calhoun's perception of his surroundings is comparable to standing behind a giant magnifying glass. Regardless of the medium he's working in or the subject matter, this Winston-Salem artist turns the ordinary into the extraordinary.

For the past three-quarters of a century, Calhoun has created a body of work so diverse, it would take volumes to catalog and categorize everything he's done.

"Ask me anything, and the answer is probably going to be yes," he said when asked what mediums he has worked with.

Calhoun thinks of himself primarily as a landscape artist, taking a sketchbook along with him almost every time he leaves his house. He has been to all 50 states as well as Canada, South America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia, with his art supplies in tow.

The richly colorful pastel drawings that Calhoun makes on his travels are all created on site, with the exception of occasionally adding a minor finishing touch here and there when he returns home.

When he's working in his studio, Calhoun spends a lot of his time on his enchanting "tree" collages inspired by his childhood observations of the pecan trees that grew outside his kitchen window.

"When the wind blew, I'd always see things moving in them," Calhoun said of his fascination with the trees.

His tree collages are definitely full of movement. They are magnificently layered, deep forests of trees that are created from paper, cloth, canvas and natural materials such as sticks. The gnarled, organic shapes of the limbs and branches dance harmoniously as they beckon the viewer into a magical wonderland of colorful delight. Calhoun has made literally hundreds of tree collages in all different sizes.

"I've done so many," he said, chuckling. "I use all kinds of different materials, so it never gets dull."

Even though Calhoun's collages are created in his studio, he ensures that they get to touch other parts of the world through his rock collection.

"These are my working rocks," Calhoun said as he gestured toward a basketful of rocks bathing in the sunlight on his windowsill. "I've collected them from all over the world."

He calls them "working rocks" because he uses them as paperweights to keep the layers of his collages flat as the glue dries.

Whether it's something as simple as a rock or a flattened fork found in the middle of the road, Calhoun metaphorically and literally shares his joyful daily observations through his enjoyable works of art.

"I look for things constantly," Calhoun said. In the back of his studio, he pointed out a recently conceived series of pictures that he is making from found objects.

His favorite one, he said, is a small Venus de Milo replica that he made from a dog biscuit that he attached to a doll head and painted white.

"It doesn't have any arms, you know?" he said, laughing.

Calhoun recognizes beauty in everything he sees, adding an element of surprise to just about anything that could be considered ordinary -- even orange juice. His art is his life; he's always creating, cooking, scheming or growing something.

"When you do art, everything comes back to it," he said.

For Calhoun, creating art is automatic. Like the persistent beat of a heart, his creativity is always ticking.

**Kat Lamp is Go Triad's visual arts columnist. She lives in Greensboro and is working toward a degree in fine art at GTCC. Contact her at kat.lamp@yahoo.com.