ABOUT THE PROJECT
SYNOPSIS
Raven Awakens is a documentary feature that explores the creative process, in mind, spirit, and physical manifestation.
The film follows Sonoma California bronze sculptor Jim Callahan through each step of the process of lost wax casting, an ancient process of bronze sculpture that Jim follows in much the same manner as it has been done through the ages. Throughout the process Jim discusses his dreams of ravens, and the ideas that pursued him for years before he finally gave in and took on the process of creating RAVEN AWAKENS.
As with most artists (and perhaps most people) Jim’s artistic process is a direct outgrowth of his life experience, his interests outside of sculpture, and the way he lives his life on a daily basis. The film also examines each of these elements, following Jim as he works on the living roof he created outside his apartment above his foundry and studio, as he plays with his dog and feeds his horses, and as he travels the back roads and backwoods hunting, fishing, and exploring in the natural surroundings that feed and grow his artistic vision.
RAVEN AWAKENS looks closely at every step of the lost wax casting procedure, detailing the amazing changing states and substances that move back and forth between liquid and solid substances, from semi-liquid clay through a series of steps on the way to the sculpture’s completion in solid bronze. With each step of the process a new reality of changing states is revealed as the sculpture is transformed through each of these states, as the complete rendering of the sculpture comes to fruition. There is a sense in which this sculptural process replicates the personal journey of the artist himself. Raven Awakens intercuts each of the steps in the sculpting process with looks at the broader collection of Jim’s body of work, and examines how the art has changed over time and how those transformations (like the transformations of each individual casting) are reflected in this most recent of his works.
RAVEN AWAKENS is the first installment in a proposed film series called The Vocabulary of Expression.
PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature
DIRECTOR Thom E. Butler
PRODUCER Thom E. Butler
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