Bennett Abrams

• Developer & Inspiration for the NatureMaker Steel Art Tree™ 1931- 2004

  Artist/sculptor/ecologist/inventor/entrepreneur and mentor to many, Bennett Abrams was known as a gentle and restless spirit who manifested his limitless creativity into a successful forty-year career in the visual arts. In the 1960's, spurred by the budding environmental movement, his research into Egyptian mummification, Victorian taxidermy, and other preservation methodologies led him to create a series of "eco art" sculptures in wax. These were primarily commissioned by museums, corporations, and private collectors. Vignettes of butterflies, fallen leaves, and mossy hillsides of trembling wildflowers, "frozen under glass," initially a fad, became a sought-after decorative and collectible art throughout the 1970's.

  In 1977, Abrams was commissioned by The Long Beach Museum of Contemporary Art to create a comprehensive retrospective of the "best of" his "eco art" period, 1969 – 1975. The exhibition was named "Natura Naturans" (literally, "nature naturing"). As shown, "Summer", 12" X 12", nature's "crown of creation", part of the Four Seasons collection.

  In the 1980's, he and his life partner, Gary Hanick, founded California Country Trees, and later, their public Studio, NatureMaker. The Studio gained worldwide recognition and fame for inventing, innovating, and promulgating an entirely new art form: "steel art trees".

• Abrams' desire was for all who "connected" with his work to experience their own vision of nature as both a sensual and transforming experience.

  He developed a unique bark "medium" which, when applied to his monumental steel sculptures, was both tactile and completely authentic in its minutiae. Abrams' vision of nature as "organic" always left an indelible imprint, that both the artist and the viewer were giving birth to something entirely new, life affirming, and beautiful.

  Bennett Abrams always knew that his work would follow him, and would serve as examples of one individual's life vision, passion, and sensitivity. His arboreal sculpture can be found on every continent. His legacy and example have touched many: namely, that one individual, without a great deal of formal education or training, can, while remaining true to his muse, reach ever higher, and achieve his particular dream.

  Abrams' niche in the art world will continue to be promulgated and expanded by Gary Hanick and NatureMaker, as well as by the many apprentices and artists he inspired and encouraged to do ever greater works. His love, humor, steadfastness, and one-of-a-kind sensibility have imbued a lifetime of impressions, touching his many friends and family. We know that, on whatever level he finds himself now, Bennett is planning his next project and, as always, is directing traffic.

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  Photo of Bennett Abrams and 'Soft Edge" sculpture circa 1980

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  Part of the Four Seasons collection. "Summer", 12"x 12", nature's "crown of creation"