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Published on: 5/23/2000
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Tom Clark: The Artist A Little Simplicity
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Tom Clark: The Artist
(This article was written by David K. Massey and appeared in the June/July 1988 issue of The Cairn Collector's Edition).
Dr. Thomas Fetzer Clark, Cairn Studio's leading artist, has gained worldwide recognition for his charming clay sculptures.Applying thirty years of training in portraiture, Tom fashions gnomes with irresistibly human expressions.His line of Woodspirits and "wee people" have captured the hearts of art-lovers across America.
Tom gave his work away for 20 years.He had no idea the world was just waiting for his special brand of artistic skill and insight into human and gnomish nature.The world embraces his work, yet he still virtually gives it away.The creator must create, and Dr. Thomas Fetzer Clark plans to create for the world and bestow on the world his artistic genius until he is well-nigh a centenarian.
The lead artist for Cairn Studio Ltd., Dr. Clark was a professor at Davidson College for 27 years.He pursued his calling in life for the sheer love of his art."I gave my statues away for 20 years"' Dr. Clark says.
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Joseph C. Poteat, a former student of Dr. Clark's and now president of Cairn Studio Ltd., saw the gnome his ex-mentor had sculpted and felt a line of such little people "could mean a big, fun business."Cairn Studio's line of Woodspirits followed, with the name for the company corning from Dr. Clark's studio, "The Cairn" which he designed and built of stone. (Cairn is Scottish for "a heap of stones).
The beginning of Cairn Studio's gnomes in 1978 was based on a single $150 order that Poteat and Dr. Clark had garnered during a trip to New York.Today, the demand for Woodspirits and gnomes far exceeds Cairn Studio's present capacity to produce, and Dr. Clark spends three to four days a week on the road promoting the figurines with art and collectible dealers around the country.He does this work, he admits, for hardly more than expense money.
"Tom really is paid just enough to reimburse him for all this travel that he does," Poteet says, "and that's basically what he gets out of it [financially]."Poteat adds, "He works unbelievably hard."His attitude toward his work is a reminder that he was a Christian ethics professor at Davidson College.He maintains that he "likes to give of himself" and that those who give are the ones who receive the most value from life.
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Tom is just the type of man that exudes good intentions.Tom has a real gift for putting feeling and expression into these statues.They radiate good cheer and good feelings."The thing that's so unique is that Tom Clark is as capable as any of the masters," Poteat glows.
"It's almost as if Rembrandt wanted to do just little note cards but put every bit of effort into those that he did into his original paintings" Poteat added.In every face that he sculpts, "Tom is able to create not only a unique face, but a totally unique personality, feeling and expression that goes with each one."Joe Poteat continues, "It's almost as if someone gripped your soul with a faraway look in his eye."The sculptor feels he has found productive soil to grow his art from: Reared in little Elizabethtown, N.C., he feels right at home in the environs of Davidson, where he owns a home that he designed himself, and his art is targeted at optimistic, cheerful grassroots America.
In Dr. Clark's case, the reach toward grassroots America will continue happily through a procession of years, each richer than the last, each filled with faces and their deep capacity for expression.
"That I'm able to sculpt at all is due to my being blessed with a God-given talent to put bits of clay together and capture a little "life," Tom explains."I try and present each stature with a dignity that comes from a life of worth.The pace I maintain is 99 percent enjoyment," he says.
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