Melding work and art
A look at the artwork of Bryan Saren

Bryan Saren relaxes amidst his sculpture "Academic Growth" out side his home along CR 203./photo by Todd Newcomer

Ask nearly any artist and they may offer their strong feelings about the underappreciated nature of art and artists in the American culture. It is a well-worn topic in some circles. And despite the odds against supporting oneself through a fine art vocation, most artists continue to find deep fulfillment in sharing their creative vision with the culture regardless of the activity's uncertain financial reward. Cultivating other means of support, perhaps from a partner or benefactor, or working a day job to pay the bills, can be just as creative as making the art itself. One of my favorite testimonials, which makes use of hyperbole to express the dubiousness of a career path in fine art, comes in the form of a poster featured in Go to Your Studio and Make Stuff: The Fred Babb Poster Book, by Southern California artist Fred Babb. The poster pictures a male co-ed with primary-colored paint spattered on his face, surrounded by the statement, "ART MAJOR: I really want to be a peace-talks negotiator, but I thought I should have something to fall back on."

Being creative folks, artists of all genres - whether visual, literary or performing - craft some pretty interesting lifestyles to keep their muses dancing in the world. Bryan Saren is one such artist who uses his 9-to-5 endeavors as a self-employed metal fabricator to support his artistic vocation. Like many artists, he had early, formative experiences that set his course toward art making.

Born and raised in Colorado Springs, Saren spent much of his early childhood exploring the rocks and creek of a neighborhood canyon. Each time he visited the canyon, Saren passed by an estate where more than a dozen large-scale metal sculptures towered above mature trees, some moving with the wind, all created by sculptor Starr Kempf. "As a child, the name of the sculptor never concerned me what he created widened my eyes. Starr Kempf has been an inspiration to me not only by turning me on to art, but in the present, to continue to inspire me to create," says Saren. "The grandeur in their size and the grace in their forms have yet to project their full impact on me." The outdoor sculpture garden looks, today, much as it did when Saren was romping through the woods more than 20 years ago, though a number of the kinetic sculptures have been removed because of disputes with neighbors over the noise made by the sculptures' movements in the wind.

After high school, Saren moved to Durango to attend Fort Lewis College, intending to complete a degree in psychology and education. "Thankfully, Durango helped me to realize that it is a greater reward to pursue your talents and dreams than it is to pursue an easy way out. In other words, I had never considered art as a viable or respectful way to make a living." Saren had always had his hands in art making: at home while his parents worked at night or in high school for a class that "didn't have homework or tedious things to memorize for a test." When he began to take art classes during his sophomore year at the Fort, he was surprised to find that he was not learning anything new. "I can't remember clearly if I confronted the professors or if they recognized my discontent, but I was quickly brought to a level of learning that specifically suited me. In particular, Fort Lewis professors David Hunt and Gerald Wells have been mentors to me in my college career, not only as artists but as teachers of theory, grace and life. They allowed me to explore my need to create and learn through trial and error."

It was during this time of independent study that Saren dove into metalworking, the love for which began on his boyhood walks. Not satisfied to simply engage in welding metal into sculptural forms, Saren explored the medium in combination with printmaking and painting. "I taught myself new ways to use metal as a medium - to print with zinc, to develop photographs on steel, to paint on aluminum." After graduating he focused the metalworking abilities developed while in school to start a business, which directly feeds his craving to be creative. "These days I use my metal-fabrication business as an excuse to buy the tools and develop the skills needed to produce monumental works of art like those of Starr Kempf. In my business, I have created a healthy balance between my minimalist forms as an artist and my clients' needs for function."

"Perigee," a steel sculpture by Bryan Saren sits on display at his home./photo by Todd Newcomer

It was during this time of independent study that Saren dove into metalworking, the love for which began on his boyhood walks. Not satisfied to simply engage in welding metal into sculptural forms, Saren explored the medium in combination with printmaking and painting. "I taught myself new ways to use metal as a medium - to print with zinc, to develop photographs on steel, to paint on aluminum." After graduating he focused the metalworking abilities developed while in school to start a business, which directly feeds his craving to be creative. "These days I use my metal-fabrication business as an excuse to buy the tools and develop the skills needed to produce monumental works of art like those of Starr Kempf. In my business, I have created a healthy balance between my minimalist forms as an artist and my clients' needs for function."

Last year, one of Saren's minimalist sculptural forms was a hot item in the bidding at the KDUR Furniture as Art auction. Comprised of a few geometric shapes cut from heavy-gauge steel, his cool-looking, welded sculpture-turned-chair was surprisingly comfortable for this sitter. We can expect something as aesthetically reduced from him again this year.

Saren recently completed a commission for his alma mater at the new Campbell Child and Family Center at Fort Lewis College. The creation for the large, whimsical, tree-shaped wall sculpture, to be used to hold name plaques for donors to the center, was enjoyable and satisfying for Saren because it allowed him to forge "a marriage between (his) artistic expression and the actual function of the piece." Saren adds, "In the end, the community and the children at the center were rewarded with a playful piece of art." Reflecting on his boyhood introduction to sculpture, he continues, "I, in turn, was rewarded with an experience that brings me closer to littering my estate with imposing metallic sculptures, with hopes of inspiring a next generation of artists."

Saren's work will be on display in the "Art of Wine" exhibit at the Karyn Gabaldon Fine Arts opening April 1, will be featured in the KDUR "Furniture as Art" auction April 7 at the Durango Arts Center and can be seen in the lobby at the Campbell Child and Family Center at Fort Lewis College.