As the door opens to Dave LaMure Jr.’s studio, it begins to feel like stepping into Santa’s workshop. Walking cautiously across the floor, your eyes devour a sight unseen by most. It’s a room filled with so much talent and creativity, and the aroma of clay and countless hours of spun pottery fill the senses with a real appreciation for this whole new world. With LaMure’s hands at work on the wheel, another dimension unfolds, spinning on an axis much like the Universe. “Everything spins,” explains LaMure.
A world of craftsmanship, skill and inspiration set the scene in LaMure’s Kimberly, Idaho, studio. Kilns, pottery wheels, glass, tools and brushes get lost among the pieces of art both hanging and shelved, some finished, broken and slightly flawed. LaMure sighs as he shows a piece of art that he spent countless hours on, only to have it damaged on its way into the kiln. Hours now lost to something he cannot sell. A flaw to LaMure is a flaw barely visible to the common person. His critical eye is an art in itself. He is his own surveyor of expertise and perfection – so he can sign his name with confidence and credibility. His determination to produce a one-of-a-kind piece is what clearly makes Dave LaMure Jr. a highly sought after artist.
What was his inspiration behind becoming an artist? LaMure explains that it was his fascination with the Earth and nature. He views art as part of the metaphysics we are all trying to understand. His art is symbolic to the physical natural world. “A lump of clay spins and with a little gravity it takes chaos to order.”
At the age of 12 LaMure began to work with clay and discovered the thrill in creating pottery. Over 35 years he has refined his talents for pottery, drawing, painting and sculpture. He has incorporated nature and our abundant natural resources into all his pieces. After spending many years as a wildlife guide, his works have taken on deeper meanings, mostly exploring wildlife and the natural process of evolution. LaMure says, “We haven’t been honoring evolution, instead we try to control it. We try to conquer the process of nature and manipulate it.” Through his art, he captures and exhibits solace in the way the natural world is suppose to be.
Most of his early pieces of art he would just give away. That is, until he became a starving college student. “In those years I needed to fill up my tank, and so I would pull into a station and set out my pieces of pottery. I found myself bartering with strangers and selling my work. Over time one thing led to another. I was beginning to make a living at selling my art.” Through his own process of evolution, Dave LaMure Jr. has fine-tuned his work. Starting out in pottery, he has evolved through bronze and glass sculpture. His sculptures are foundered in glass, a three-dimensional piece of art that is translucent and holographic. “It’s a metaphor for the difficulty of the world, and through glass we can see more,” LaMure explains.
LaMure travels to art shows and festivals throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. His commissioned art is on display In Golden, Jackson Hole and Park City. Contact him at Dave LaMure Jr. Art Studios, 208-731-1845, dave@davelamurejr.com, or http://davelamurejr.com/
Thats my amazing daddy!
Thanks Heat your the greatest!
Congratulations Dave. You’re one of the most inspirational people I know. Keep the masterpieces coming!
A breath of inspired talent. Well done!
Thanks Zannie and Andrew a real compliment from two that are brutally honest and not prodigy!
That’s super. That’s my Nephew. Living the dream.