John Henry Waddell
A Lifelong journey into Art
Story by Karen Reider • Photos by PetroGraphics
“The work of art must seize upon you,
wrap you up in itself and carry you away.”
– Pierre-Auguste Renoir
A lot can happen in 87 years.
Changes in our world over that time, in general, have been monumental. Reflect on what those changes can mean in one man’s lifetime, and it would be hard to imagine any aspect left the same.
Yet, for renown sculptor John Henry Waddell, there has been one constant, and that is the very thing he was born to do.
A true artist, in every sense of the word, Waddell lives, breathes, and exists through his art. Sculptor, painter, teacher, student, husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, are some of the hats worn by this 87-year-old legend.
On the land surrounding Waddell’s studio stand magnificant clans of life-sized figures that greet you as you enter the property, while several more lead the way to his studio. Utterly enthralling, it’s easy to drift off the road because you can’t stop staring.
His studio is equally as intoxicating, every direction you turn, you are engrossed by Waddell’s work––life-sized figures with out stretched arms, torsos soaring above, and hundreds of eyes watching you from every corner of the room - all welcoming you into their world.
Waddell’s pieces possess an essence of life that goes beyond the brilliant skill with which he works.
His models, who quickly become good friends, love to work with Waddell, and often pose for multiple works. Waddell’s soft manner and infectious warmth create a comfortable ease in his models and allow his subjects to expose more than their surface. He becomes privy to a part that outsiders may never have seen - a glimpse at their inner being.
These moments speak volumes when viewing his art. The relationship between artist and subject can be quite revealing once transferred to clay and eventually bronze.
When viewing many of his life-sized sculptures at once, one immediately notices the different shapes and sizes of the women he sculpts. He follows no formula for what a women “should” look like. He abhors the media and conditioning set upon women to all look a certain way, and seeks to show the beauty in all as individuals.
Because of this, Waddell has helped many women come to see and enjoy their own personal beauty, in the package they’ve been gifted with.
“The perfection is in the individual,” he emphasized. “Their ability to accept their own body unveils their innate beauty.”
To Waddell, nothing is typical. “The concept of working from a model is just so real.” He doesn’t use photographs because the color, texture and emotion of a human being cannot be felt that way. “To really become an artist, to really see, is a lifetime achievement.”
Most of Waddell’s bronze sculptures are not smooth or polished but alive with texture. He tells me, “I believe that the marks of the hand are an expression of change and it gives life and vitality to the piece.”
Waddell doesn’t remember a time when art was not a part of his life. Early years were spent drawing whenever possible. At the age of seven, he was enrolled in an art class at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Teachers there were learning how to teach children ceramic sculpture and Waddell was the only student. He took to it like a duck to water. In no time he was doing advanced work; mixing plaster, making molds, creating small figures, plates and pots.
It was his initiation into the world of art and he knew from the first day that all he would ever want to be was an artist.
For the most part he ignored and disliked the regimented school system and spent as much time as possible in art classes, until the age of 10, when his family moved to Chicago, Illinois.
It took Waddell three years to find an outlet for his creativity. He met Katherine Lord, “a wonderful and versatile artist who became my task master,” Waddell smiled at the memory.
Lord, who lived and worked to age 101, taught him how to paint and work with clay, between his chores around her studio.
With a chuckle, he remembered the first opportunity to work with a live model. His parents had to sign a consent form since the model would be nude - they had no problem doing so.
Waddell, a lively 13 year old, was concerned about his bodily reaction to seeing a woman naked for the first time. For security, he wrapped a bandana tightly around himself like a jock strap.
“That did the trick,” he told me. “And after the first five minutes, the sensation went away, and all I saw was the artistic form I was painting.”
It’s been that way ever since.
Waddell remained under Lord’s direction for several years, and at age 17, began teaching life drawing to children and adults at the studio.
After graduating high school, he received a scholarship to The Art Institute of Chicago. It was here that he received his master’s and then went on to a teaching career that lasted until he was 30 years old.
Early on, Waddell’s art portrayed man’s ills ... poverty, war, the devastation of the atomic bomb. He was painting almost exclusively because the cost of sculpting was prohibitive.
At 37, Waddell decided he had to quit teaching and devote his time completely to his artistry. It was in 1963, when he heard of the Birmingham bombing that killed four young girls, ages 12 and 14. Waddell was deeply affected by this tragedy, and began a memorial to the girls.
“My sense of instant metamorphosis of my work took place on the morning of September 15, 1963, in an explosion of intensity unleashed in me by the heartless bombing which took place at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. In place now was a clear revelation of all the experiences of my life. The veil parted and I glimpsed, saw and then held onto the thread of meaning that had been developing in my work, of which I had been only half aware.”
- John Henry Waddell,
(John Henry Waddell, the art and the artist by Michel F. Sard)
Waddell represented the four girls, in adult-sized bronze figures, as they would have been had they survived and grew to maturity. The piece is at once heartbreaking and inspiring. He named it “That Which Might Have Been, Birmingham, 1963.”
Much was written about the memorial, as well as a published book, film, music and choreographed dance. It has a permanent home in the garden at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Phoenix.
Waddell went on to complete countless masterpieces that adorn businesses, botanical gardens, parks, public areas and private homes, throughout the U.S. and around the world.
Fast forward to present day and you’ll find Waddell still working and loving every moment. He is happily married 59 years to Ruth, an extraordinary women and fabulous artist, who has greatly inspired and encouraged him over the years. He considers himself a very fortunate man.
Waddell has just completed another epic work of art that lovingly and patiently has taken him 11 years.
It began with a dear friend, dancer and model, Jill. She inspired the relief which originated with her as all of the figures. After a year she wanted to pursue her own career in dance and could not model for him as often.
Change after change, 11 years later, the wall relief, made of wax not clay, consists of 33 different women in various striking poses. They are standing, sitting, rising, and flying, all symbolic of rising from the ashes. Although, that is my feeling when I view the art. Waddell tells me that there is no “story” behind the piece. “Each person who sees it brings their own story, just as each figure has their own story. I don’t tell people what to think about it,” he added. It is however, even to Waddell, a symbol of hope.
The piece, entitled “The Rising, Earth to Sky,” is in the final process of being immortalized in bronze.
A visit to his Web site (ArtByWaddell.com) gives you a further peek into Waddell’s fascinating world of art.
For more extensive information on the life and work of this incredibly gifted and exuberant man, check out his book, John Henry Waddell, the art and the artist, by Michel F. Sard, available through the artist, at Sedona Art Center, or online.
You can visit his sculpture gallery by calling (928) 634-4941. It is a breathtaking adventure.
