“We’re around the table with John and Yoko, and we’re singing happy birthday to John Lennon. I was like, “Man, I’m just a kid from Nebraska. How did I get there?” It was following a creative trail that led me there.”
Les Bruning’s remarkable creative career – 50 years and counting – has allowed him to meet fascinating people, travel to exciting places, and immerse in creative opportunities far beyond what his young mind would have thought possible. Creative intentions have driven his entire career. But they required more than a goal – they required a journey.
About the speaker
Les Bruning is an accomplished, nationally-recognized sculpture artist, specializing in metal casting and welding. A founding member and a partner in the Hot Shops Art Center and a founding member of Omaha Creative Institute, Les is also the owner of Bruning Sculpture, Inc., a mold making, casting and fabrication studio that has artist clients across the country.
Les is an active participant, advocate, and organizer of Public Art Projects. He was a member of the J. Doe Project in Omaha and created the J. Doe form. He was a participant in Chicago's Navy Pier exhibitions in 1998 and 1999, Omaha's O! Art Project, and several other projects. Represented in numerous collections across the country, Les has had over 40 solo shows, over 120 group or juried exhibitions, and completed more that forty sculpture commissions.
Stroll through a virtual museum of his work at Bruning Sculpture Gallery > http://www.bruningsculpture.com/gallery/index.html
Favorite quotes from this talk See all
“When you first start out as a creative, you think, ‘I have to be original. Everything has to be totally original.’ That’s a bogus idea to start with. The idea is – everything evolves from something else. I like to go to conferences. I like to hear other artists that are doing things that I admired because I could learn from them. I don’t want people to say, “Oh, you’re wonderful” because there is no benefit in that to me. But if I hear people talking about what they’re doing and talking about their own ideas, then that is very stimulating to me. The idea that something is totally original has always been a myth. The more you work – it’s stimulation around you; it’s what other artists do; it’s ideas that are floating in the air that just seem to land here and there. That’s what you’re really looking for and that’s what drives you forward.”
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Hosted by
Hot Shops Art Center
1301 Nicholas
Omaha, Nebraska United States 68102
Date
Partners
Greater Omaha Chamber
The Reader
Hot Shops Art Center
SecretPenguin
Midwest Sound and Lighting
