John Boomer

American, b. 1945
John Boomer was born in California on October 6, 1945. He remained in California until he graduated from California State University at Chico with a B.A. in Psychology. In 1968 John moved to the Navajo reservation to become a teacher. It was while teaching that John gained interest in sculpting and began to teach himself how to work with wood. Claro Walnut, Black Walnut, Cedar-Juniper, and Birds Eye Maple are some of the first types of wood John learned to sculpt. His media interest grew to works in Granite, Basalt, and Marble. John loved to work with these materials because of their color, texture, hardness, and smell. In 1972 John began work as a full time artist. Living on the reservation, the people around him were traditional Navajos; a timeless humanity and serenity came through. The women in particular seemed to be the very mothers of the earth, calm, yet proud and enduring. The wood, especially the Cedar-Juniper, seemed to suggest these traditional women in their long dresses and blankets. These women became a very strong theme in John's work. After ten years of sculpting his interests were turning to the construction of painted wall pieces. He chose wood for the constriction and different colors of sand for the paint. He sometimes highlighted with acrylic and oil paint to incorporate more brilliant colors. Even after 30 years as a self taught artist, John is still searching and expanding his art concepts with new vision, techniques, and materials.

Source: Rosensteel Galleries