John Sandell

Bronze Sculpture & Antler Carvings

Biography

 John Sandell currently lives in Idaho with his wife Alyce.  John was introduced to art at a young age by both of his parents who were artists.  His family’s travels throughout Europe during his adolescent years provided him with a taste of different people, culture and art.  It was during this period of his life that John developed his passion for music and the arts.  For most of his life, music was his main interest but that changed in 1994 when his focus changed to sculpture.

While fly-fishing on the Snake River in the famous Hells Canyon wilderness, he became entranced by a beautiful white-tail deer antler that he found on the trail.  Upon observing his find more closely, he imagined a trout coming out of the antler.  From that point on he began carving directly from the deer antlers.  As opposed to working in clay, antler carvings leave no room for change or for error.  These unique antler sculptures were the start of his art collection. 

John has always been an avid outdoorsman which inspired his interest in sculpting wildlife.  "The Pacific Northwest offers an amazing window into the natural habitat of a wide variety of creatures both large and small.  I spend a great deal of time trying to get to know each animal prior to beginning a sculpture.  I focus my efforts on observing the trivial, the simplicity and the natural essence of each individual subject."