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Show Jamensem Artist exhmrdimre ' r? Sterns i By JOYCE WINTERS KAYSVILLE - To look at Dee Jorgensen you may not see a master mas-ter craftsman at first glance, because be-cause he's a humble, rather shy unpretentious un-pretentious man. But to this observer obser-ver he is an artist, a master sculptor and craftsman unequaled, yet relatively rela-tively unknown. TO SEE his works displayed throughout his small duplex and garage-turned-workshop is a wonderful won-derful aesthetic experience that you want to share with the world. You ask yourself why a man so gifted is not very well known, and the answer is that it takes money to make money, especially for an artist who needs to purchase supplies sup-plies to create masterpieces. His bronze sculptures cost him $1600 to make, which makes it difficult for him to get enough capital to create full time. Consequently he has worked in construction for ten years, about the length of time he has lived in Kaysville. DEE WORKED in construction when the big slump hit in the 70' s, so he started making jewelry from jaw bones of animals, and sold his creations in Jackson Hole, Wyo. When construction picked up a little lit-tle he moved his family to Utah, but with hardly any money and ten days before Christmas he took orders for his art work. The sales were not enough to sustain his family, thus the construction work had to be his main source of income and his art a supplement to the on-again on-again off-again sheet-rocking jobs. Even now 99 percent of his art sales are for out of state buyers. People in Utah like to look but don't like to pay for original pieces. LIKE MOST artistic people, the need to create or perform is a driv- PHOTOGRAPHYJim Haskert KAYSVILLE'S DEE JORGENSEN sits in his living room, surrounded by tributes to his artistic talents and love of the outdoors and the American West. ing force, and in order to satisfy that drive Dee has branched out into several mediums. He sculpts, paints, carves in leather and in bones, works pottery, does pencil drawings, makes his own molds and teaches art and sculpturing. One of his pieces, a life-size eagle, is in the foyer of Bountiful Junior High. Several of his pieces are owned by Kaysville residents. Ken and Marilyn Mauchley, who consider themselves very fortunate fortun-ate to own the original "Survival" in bronze. DEE WAS born in Star Valley, Wyo., but has lived most of his life in Utah, where he graduated from Bountiful High. While a youngster, he would have contests with his brothers to see who could draw the best cartoons, then later as a teenager teena-ger he designed art work for his English teacher. Upon graduation from high school he let his art work : go for about ten years. During this time he was moving from place to -place and it was difficult to set up shop. - He lives in Kaysville with his wife Luana and daughter Tera, but - for how long, one wonders. A gift . like this needs to be recognized and -:: endowed so he can create full time, :; and most likely that kind of backing :.: will be found elsewhere. |