Culture & Entertainment Notebook: Wood sculptor Adam Sobas reveals beneath-the-bark beauty

Whether it's a walking stick or a stump Adam Sobas comes across while hiking near his home in Elsinore, Missouri, the mystery as to "what's inside" the timber demands his attention.

When Sobas finds a piece of wood striking his interest, no matter the condition, he "gets something out of it," he said in a Polish accent Thursday at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri.

A lot of sculptors will take a block of wood or a block of stone, Sobas said. But his process is dissimilar. It's "additive."

"From little pieces I make lots of big pieces," Sobas said, beneath his greyish, horseshoe mustache.

Sobas has worked with chiseling pieces from wood for many years but said early on, life got in the way and "things changed."

TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.comFolk artist Adam Sobas, 68, poses for a portrait in the gallery at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri where his wooden sculptures are currently on display in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019.Sobas uses found pieces of wood to create his pieces, which he said are often designed to highlight the materials' natural characteristics and geometry."If you ask me, do I follow a certain style or technique? No," he said. "You go with the flow."

Originally from Poland, Sobas moved with his family to the United States in 1961. He attended University of Alabama, where he studied biology for two years. He also studied art and photography.

After taking all the available undergraduate sculpture courses, Sobas was then allowed to take three graduate sculpture courses -- until the university realized he did not have an arts degree. That angered Sobas, and that's when his formal education ended and self-education began.

Sobas is now 100 percent dedicated to his craft. Finished pieces have included stone, metal and acrylic, but primarily the chosen medium is wood, Sobas said.

One of the first pieces he ever created incorporated the use of light.

"Somebody owns it in Pennsylvania," he said. "It was all wood. It was regular wood."

TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.comFolk artist Adam Sobas, 68, poses for a portrait in the gallery at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri where his wooden sculptures are currently on display in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019.Sobas uses found pieces of wood to create his pieces, which he said are often designed to highlight the materials' natural characteristics and geometry."Goals?" he said when asked about his artistic future. "Just another piece. Keep going."

The reason for moving from Pennsylvania to Elsinore, though, is because he wanted to "be in nature."

"I wanted to go into the woods and live on my own," Sobas said.

He doesn't like staining wood, and prefers to work with mahogany. Whatever color you see within his sculptures is the natural wood, he said.

"Wood provides the color and the texture," Sobas said. "To me, this is like playing and building on nature, and technology."

Along with varying sizes of the finished pieces -- miniature to 7 feet tall -- Sobas said his styles include modern, abstract and organic. Several of those pieces even include geometric designs, which he plans to make more apparent in future pieces.

Folk artist Adam Sobas, 68, discusses one of his pieces, titled "Totem to Tomorrow" in the gallery at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri where his wooden sculptures are currently on display in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019.TYLER GRAEF

One of his sculptures, "Totem to Tomorrow," on display at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, is made of wood and acrylic, and combines several different pieces. Those pieces may have come from near-finished sculptures that did not "look right."

If a particular piece doesn't suit him, Sobas puts it aside and focuses his attention on another.

"I work on three or four different pieces at the same time," he said. "It's not something I start and just finish."

Sobas also doesn't count the hours it takes to finish a sculpture.

"If you love what you're doing, it doesn't matter how much time it takes," he said.

And while some glued pieces may be setting on a particular sculpture, that's when Sobas works on another.

If something doesn't work out, he can cut it up, change it, or use it in another piece, Sobas said.

Sobas creates his own method, he said unashamedly. When asked, "Do you follow some style or technique?" his reply is simply "No."

"You ask me about artists, I won't spew out stuff, because I'm not a follower," he said. "I'm creating my own ideas."

What Sobas does is for his own satisfaction. He doesn't create "to sell, to please," because "nobody's going to like everything you do."

"I'll make something, and the market will find me. And if not, I will enjoy doing it for the rest of my life," he said.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3632

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Oscars time is (almost) now! Here's a list of everything you need to know about this year's Academy Awards at 7 p.m. Sunday on ABC.

Where are the Oscars presented?

The 91st annual Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Who's performing?

Jennifer Hudson

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

Bette Midler

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Kendrick Lamar and SZA

Queen and Adam Lambert

Who's nominated?

Here are a handful of the nominations. You can find the complete list at semissourian.com.

Best Picture

"Black Panther"

"BlacKkKlansman"

"Bohemian Rhapsody"

"The Favourite"

"Green Book"

"Roma"

"A Star Is Born"

"Vice"

Best Actress

Yalitza Aparicio, "Roma"

Glenn Close, "The Wife"

Olivia Colman, "The Favourite"

Lady Gaga, "A Star Is Born"

Melissa McCarthy, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams, "Vice"

Marina de Tavira, "Roma"

Regina King, "If Beale Street Could Talk"

Emma Stone, "The Favourite"

Rachel Weisz, "The Favourite"

Best Actor

Christian Bale, "Vice"

Bradley Cooper, "A Star Is Born"

Willem Dafoe, "At Eternity's Gate"

Rami Malek, "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Viggo Mortensen, "Green Book"

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Mahershala Ali, "Green Book"

Adam Driver, "BlacKkKlansman"

Sam Elliott, "A Star Is Born"

Richard E. Grant, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"

Sam Rockwell, "Vice"

-- From Entertainment Weekly

Best Director

Spike Lee, "BlacKkKlansman"

Pawel Pawlikowski, "Cold War"

Yorgos Lanthimos, "The Favourite"

Alfonso Cuar--n, "Roma"

Adam McKay, "Vice"

Best Original Screenplay

"The Favourite" (Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara)

"First Reformed" (Paul Schrader)

"Green Book" (Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly)

"Roma" (Alfonso Cuar--n)

"Vice" (Adam McKay)

Best Adapted Screenplay

"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)

"BlacKkKlansman" (Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee)

"Can You Ever Forgive Me?" (Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty)

"If Beale Street Could Talk" (Barry Jenkins)

"A Star Is Born" (Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters)

Best Cinematography

Åukasz Å»al, "Cold War"

Robbie Ryan, "The Favourite"

Caleb Deschanel, "Never Look Away"

Alfonso Cuar--n, "Roma"

Matthew Libatique, "A Star Is Born"

Best Production Design

"Black Panther"

"The Favourite"

"First Man"

"Mary Poppins Returns"

"Roma"

Best Costume Design

Mary Zophres, "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"

Ruth Carter, "Black Panther"

Sandy Powell, "The Favourite"

Sandy Powell, "Mary Poppins Returns"

Alexandra Byrne, "Mary Queen of Scots"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

"Border" (Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer)

"Mary Queen of Scots" (Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks)

"Vice" (Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney)

Best Original Score

Ludwig Goransson, "Black Panther"

Terence Blanchard, "BlacKkKlansman"

Nicholas Britell, "If Beale Street Could Talk"

Alexandre Desplat, "Isle of Dogs"

Marc Shaiman, "Mary Poppins Returns"

Best Original Song

"All the Stars," "Black Panther"

"I'll Fight," "RBG"

"The Place Where Lost Things Go," "Mary Poppins Returns"

"Shallow," "A Star Is Born"

"When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings," "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"

Best Film Editing

"BlacKkKlansman"

"Bohemian Rhapsody"

"The Favourite"

"Green Book"

"Vice"

Best Sound Editing

"Black Panther"

"Bohemian Rhapsody"

"First Man"

"A Quiet Place"

"Roma"

Best Sound Mixing

"Black Panther"

"Bohemian Rhapsody"

"First Man"

"Roma"

"A Star Is Born"

Best Visual Effects

"Avengers: Infinity War"

"Christopher Robin"

"First Man"

"Ready Player One"

"Solo: A Star Wars Story"

Best Animated Feature Film

"Incredibles 2"

"Isle of Dogs"

"Mirai"

"Ralph Breaks the Internet"

"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"

Best Foreign-Language Film

"Capernaum"

"Cold War"

"Never Look Away"

"Roma"

"Shoplifters"

Best Documentary Feature

"Free Solo"

"Hale County This Morning, This Evening"

"Minding the Gap"

"Of Fathers and Sons"

"RBG"

Best Documentary Short Subject

"Black Sheep"

"End Game"

"Lifeboat"

"A Night at the Garden"

"Period. End of Sentence."

Best Animated Short Film

"Animal Behaviour"

"Bao"

"Late Afternoon"

"One Small Step"

"Weekends"

Best Live-Action Short Film

"Detainment"

"Fauve"

"Marguerite"

"Mother"

"Skin"

-- From Entertainment Weekly