From the coral reefs of Tahiti, by way of Italian marble quarries, a giant sea slug arrived in a backyard in Westville.
Westville sculptor Gar Waterman tells the story in a new video he made. The 10-minute film shows how Waterman carves his stone sculptures of underwater creatures called nudibranchs or “sea slugs.” Click the video to watch.
Waterman’s work is inspired by a childhood partially spent SCUBA diving in the South Pacific with his dad, an underwater filmmaker. Waterman became fascinated by the bizarre colorful nudibranchs he found underwater. (Read all about that here.)
As an adult artist, Waterman hand-selects the marble for his sculptures from quarries in Carrara, Italy. He has huge blocks of stone shipped to his home in Westville, where he shapes them with power-tools and by hand in his backyard.
Waterman’s sculptures can often be found in Westville’s Kehler Liddel Gallery. He’s planning a photo and sculpture nudibranch exhibit at the Mystic Aquarium in 2014, another chance to offer people a taste of Tahiti, captured in Italian marble.
Mr. Waterman is a modern master employing old world methods and new, as he engages the additive and subtractive processes of sculpture making. To this work, he brings a wealth of real-world experience and knowledge, sharing with us aspects of his undersea explorations, and those creatures that might otherwise remain unknown to the majority of people. Seldom are so many talents rolled up in one person. Beside his versatility in sculptural modes (he is also a fabulous welder), this modest, but highly accomplished visual artist, is also a talented musician; guitar and mandolin...and there may well be others. His concern for the environment and for the seas that inspire the work shown in this video, accrues to ours and society's benefit. Given the amount of work and skill required to bring to "life" even one of his undersea forms, suggests a value than can be described as priceless, though I'm sure, like any working artist, a sale here and there is always welcomed. Westville, New Haven,and the nation, by extension, are lucky to have this gifted artist, environmentalist, and all 'round good person enriching lives through the creative process.