All Kiva Artists
Little Bird at Loretto
El Centro de Santa Fe
102 East Water Street
Santa Fe, NM 87501505-820-7413
505-820-7414 (fax)
info@kivaindianart.com
John Bennett
John Bennett grew up watching Roy, Gene and Hoppy on TV, and like many others was branded with a love for the heroes of the old west. Another hero he loved was his dad, being one of the last mounted horse soldiers in the Second World War, a captain in the 112th Cavalry.
Born in Dallas, John met his wife Cathy in Houston and together they left for the east Texas countryside. There they built a house and windmill from the ground up and raised cows, horses, chickens and vegetables. In spite of many obstacles, they loved "roughing it" like John's great grandparents might have when they farmed the same land many years ago.
John majored in agriculture at Texas Tech, but graduated from North Texas Farrier's School where he learned blacksmithing skills, preferring those to shoeing horses. From his coal fired forge, he produced many remarkable wrought iron pieces.
However, it was sculpting an old fiddle player as a gift for his dad that birthed a real passion in him. John says, according to a verse in the Bible, a person's heart can be found where their treasure is. He believes God filled his heart with a love and talent for sculpting. Having always used his hands to create things, nothing gives him the same thrill or satisfaction as sculpting western figures in clay and then seeing them transformed into beautiful bronze treasures.
John has his own defining style, and each sculpture is a signature expression of his heart, capturing the spirit of the west in action and unique detail. John works and lives in beautiful downtown Fredericksburg, Texas with his wife Cathy and their little dog. In 2009, he was appointed Texas State Artist for Three-Dimensional work by the Texas Commission on the Arts.