NK: How did you become a professional artist?TH: In the summer of 1983, I moved from Indiana to Colorado to help my uncle open a pottery studio. I ended up staying for a year and met and started dating my future wife. Then, I answered a newspaper ad and got a job in a foundry where I learned the basics of bronze sculpture. About three years in, I sculpted a pair of lionfish on some coral. It was very well received, and that got me out on my own.

NK: Has anything been a constant source of inspiration throughout your career or have new inspirations arisen?TH: Growing up in Indiana, we really didn’t have a lot of “big game” type wildlife. I was drawn to things like frogs and toads and salamanders and snakes. That’s where I started and where I’m still at. And I’m always finding new subjects. I’ll see a particular movement in an animal and start to consider how I can portray it and then start doing the research. Pretty soon, I’ll be completely obsessed.

NK: In terms of technique and style, what do you continue to rely on for your artwork?TH: The big constant for me has always been how to compose a sculpture to portray the movement of an animal in a way it hasn’t been seen before.

NK: What are some of your proudest career achievements?TH: These fall into the small scale and the big scale. When I’m in the studio working on things, on any given piece there are always little problems to solve, little things to learn. And I’m always happy when a piece brings the bigger accomplishment of another sculptor that I respect coming up to me and saying that they like one of my pieces. Getting into the Prix de West was a huge thing for me. That’s one of the best organizations of artists, and I’ve always wanted to be a part of it. I was very honored to be an invitee last year and even more honored to be asked to become a member.

NK: What are you working on now?TH: My main focus has been sculpting the four pieces that I’ll be showing this June in my first show as a participating artist in the Prix de West. I shy away from talking about them, though, before they’re actually finished.

contact informationtonyhochstetler.com

representationSimpson Gallagher Gallery, Cody, WY, simpsongallaghergallery.com.Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, meyergalleries.com.Lovetts Gallery, Tulsa, OK, lovettsgallery.com.Gallery 1261, Denver, CO, gallery1261.com.Ann Korologos Gallery, Basalt, CO, korologosgallery.com.

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