About Paul..............

Driving slowly down Paul Bobrowitz' driveway, you are greeted by a row of taller-than-life sculptures of humans on both sides of the road.
These iron monoliths are abstract in design, but they are curiously life-like.
Bobrowitz is the sculptor who has fashioned these unique pieces out of both scrap metal and sheet metal.

But his story is more than just shaping odd pieces of metal.
It is one of shaping a dream.

He is one of a rare breed, an artist who has decided to make art his main work.
Only weeks ago, he took the momentous step to produce his art full-time, and is discovering that it takes courage and confidence.The new lifestyle also requires the ability to watch the dollar more carefully for awhile, perhaps on a long term basis. But he is determined to make his dream a reality.

Bobrowitz has a true artist's ability to make his work seem easy. He talks about his evolution from carpenter to sculptor as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.For many years he worked as a carpenter, occasionally using welding in a practical way, such as fixing a metal object. Meanwhile, his wife Sandy attended the Milwaukee School of Art and Design, and would take him along to art shows.Like many artists, he said to himself, "I could do that."  It was there that his dream began.

About six years ago, Bobrowitz started making sculptures for fun. He created some fanciful birds.  Then, he created a piece called "Piano Man."
This sculpture is not a piano player, as one would think, but a man who consists of large portions of the inside of a piano.

Then he did an about-face, and marched off in a different direction. "GM and Felicia" is a sculpture that is made from flat sheet metal, cut out, and welded together.
Previously, he had used found objects, put them together and essentially gave them a new identity. The leap was a vast one; it is much more of a challenge to start out with a piece of raw material and forge it into a meaningful object.
Forthwith came the decision to pursue his talents fulltime.

For the last few years, he had been working less at his carpentry work, and more at sculpting. Six weeks ago, he decided that he wasn't happy at work, and asked for some time off to see if he really could make it as an artist.Bobrowitz works hard at his art . He has shown work in five art fairs this year.
His home,  where he has his studio and over six acres of grounds are littered with exciting pieces that are a testament to his energy. An example of a droll piece is "Fred Astairs and Ginger Rogers."
"Fred" is literally made of a section of stairs.

Sizes in this outdoor exhibition range from twenty-one feet to a few inches tall.
Though Bobrowitz has no formal training in technique, he doesn't seem to need it . His works speak for themselves, though creative, they can be ' understood without the help of a written explanation or guidebook.
He said that the work of art should provoke thought, but should also speak for itself."The whole thing is about having fun," Bobrowitz said, and true to form, his sculptures are just that.Some are primitive;  others more abstract. Another interesting dimension to his work is that most can be seen from more than one side.  Each view can be interpreted in a different way. For instance, "Multi-facet," a striking Madonna-like figure, has an alert expression on one side, and a more sleepy expression on the other.

Although he loves dearly the dream he has forged, Bobrowitz wants to be very careful that it doesn't get to be work.
When he starts thinking about money he is not creating any more, just producing. He has had several commissions, where he had difficulty when he concentrated on the pay and what the customer wanted.
He would finally get to a point when he stopped worrying and just focused on the art itself. He was then able to function and produce a piece that he was happy with. "If the customer is pleased with it, fine. If not, that's fine too," Bobrowitz said of, his philosophy.

Time and materials are a big concern for the person trying to make a living from art. Bobrowitz reuses much of his material in order to keep expenses down because it is costly to do welding. A large quantity of equipment and supplies are needed to do the job. The entire process from idea to finished piece is very time-consuming, as well.

Bobrowitz wants to develop as an artist.
He said that some of his more recent pieces have a more refined, sophisticated look.   That doesn't mean that he will stop making whimsical pieces; he will simply be adding another level, as he had done in the past.

But for Paul Bobrowitz, the bottom line is, he took time to make his dream come true.

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