"Y'all Love Country" Photograph

Thoughts from Rockos...The first time I put a mallet and chisel to stone, I was won over. Since then, spending endless hours of quiet time with only the stone and my own thoughts, I have come to know sculpting as truly a spiritual experience. It demands and it takes all of me. It takes me on a journey. It's a private place where ego is not allowed—a place where time is irrelevant—a place where I am intuitively tuned and aligned. It is a place I never knew existed. Please let me introduce myself. I'm Rockos. I am a Swiss/Italian boy from a large Catholic family. My upbringing would be best described in three words: noisy, chaotic, and wild. Amongst the family chaos, I found myself as a little boy with a passion for how things worked. It started off with finding old things that were often broken and discarded—taking things apart and trying to fix them the best I could. This evolved from a young boy to now, fixing and rebuilding everything from old farm tractors, construction equipment, hot rods, and fascination for restoring old turn-of-the-century houses and farmsteads. My life has always been about living in the country with lots of farm animals and growing vegetables. I love to see the chickens scurrying the driveway as I pull up in my re-built jalopy, it makes me smile. And yes, I do ride horses, as a little guy, I kicked dirt and rocks in my well-used cowboy boots…you know, the ones with the toes curled up…… *Note: please read "Education" to fill in my bio (because Saatchi doesn't give enough word count so to finish what one wished to write). As a young child and even a young man, I was the one who couldn't sit still. They described me as the child that was "bouncing off the walls". I was the one who was always getting into trouble; always the one at the Principal's office; always the one who was the biggest irritant to adults. Now I am on a whole new journey. It's a much quieter excursion and full of passion. Suddenly I am 66 andI'm so much more about being silent and in the present moment. Each time before I sculpt, I sit quietly in prayer… all my senses begin to open. It feels as if I’m becoming one with this stone that has existed long before me and will be here long after I am gone. There is an image in the stone that will speak to me before I begin, and as I wait patiently, it reveals itself to me in its own good time. Most perceive stone as being very hard and strong.