The Gazette-Enterprise

Local artists team up for charity

By Tucker Stephenson

Published June 3, 2009

SEGUIN — When “Arts. For Life.” co-chair Jack Linden was looking for a piece of art to be raffled off at the June 27 event, he went straight to an expert.

Linden sought out local wood sculptor Marika Bordes and asked her if she would put her talents to use to benefit the Guadalupe Regional Medical Center — again.

“I have seen her previous work, she has one called ‘Balancing Act’ and I’ve been in love with that one for a long time,” Linden said. “I’ve seen some of her other work, she has one called ‘The Goddess’ which is probably seven feet tall. Then I’ve seen also, she’s doing a sculpture for the maternity ward for the new hospital, so there’s another thing.

“I’ve seen a lot of her work — she’s an incredibly creative person.”

But with Bordes already commissioned to start working on the maternity ward piece, she knew that she might find herself in a time-crunch trying to complete the piece for the fundraiser.

“Jack was here and he had asked me to do a sculpture,” Bordes said. “And because I was doing a commission for the hospital already, I told him that it would be difficult to finish it on time, but if I was working in cooperation with somebody else, I would be able to get it on time.”

So the search for a potential collaborator began, although it didn’t take long for Bordes to find one.

Enter recent Texas Lutheran University grad and former Seguin High School student Howard Crunk, who was already set to be donating a painting to the hospital’s cause.

“The name of Howard came up because I think Howard was going to give one of his paintings,” Bordes said. “And I said, ‘He is a good artist — we could work together.’”

So the partnership began, with Bordes — the recipient of first-place prizes in Seguin, Kerrville and New York City — playing the role of Mr. Miyagi to Crunk’s Daniel-san. For those that don’t know their “Karate Kid,” that just means that she acted as a mentor to the talented, young artist — although she admits that the learning process was a two-way street.

“He is not really my student,” Bordes said. “He learned from me and I learned from him. He has a sense of design of drawing that is absolutely remarkable. I couldn’t do it by myself because of a question of time, without the two of us, it was not possible.”

The sculpture, made from a Chinaberry tree, is now completed, described by the artist as being a man and woman wrapped into one single being — mirroring the creative collaboration that took place between Crunk and Bordes’ styles.

“I guess you could say the ebb and flow between a man and a woman becoming as one individual,” Crunk said. “I think I brought more of the naturalistic design aspect and I guess you would say she brought more of the spiritual concept.”

Throughout the project, Crunk said that he took some valuable lessons with him for the future, in which he plans to keep broadening his artistic horizons.

“It was a very abundant learning experience — I learned so much it’s hard to put it into words,” Crunk said before discussing his career goals. “First and foremost, it’s to continue to create art and then eventually, go on to other aspects, such as animation, digital art, etcetera.”

That future appears to be very bright, as Linden said that the finished product reflects the work of someone who is about to make their mark on the art community.

“It just showed him coming out,” Linden said. “Marika saw that in him — now he’s just bringing something out that I don’t think he knew he had and I think that’s one of the bright things about that — that he started seeing things in his drawing on that wood and then he started bringing it out, so it was marvelous seeing it.”

The sculpture is now officially part of the “Art. For Life” raffle, with tickets for the drawing being sold at the GRMC gift shop for $20 apiece, or two for $30. And until Jackson Auditorium opens its doors for the inaugural event — slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. three weeks from Saturday — the piece will also be on display at the gift shop.

That way, everyone can get an up-close view of something that Linden has known for quite a while.

“(Bordes) takes a piece of wood and sees something in it that I don’t see,” Linden said. “But I guess that what makes a good sculptor. Michelangelo always said that there’s somebody in the marble wanting to get out and I think she sees that in the wood.”

In addition to her work on the maternity sculpture, Bordes is working on her home studio, which she plans to have ready for an exhibition by August 15. More information on her artwork is available online at www.marikasculpture.com .

General admission seats for the Arts. For Life. event, which includes a performance by the Mid-Texas Symphony, are on sale now for $50 at the GRMC gift shop, as well as Gift & Gourmet, Cascades and the Area Chamber of Commerce. Reserved seats are $75 or $100, depending on location, can only be purchased by calling the foundation office at 830-401-7721.

Tomorrow’s Oneness

Sculptors Howard Crunk & Marika Bordes

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