candle, than to curse the darkness.”
My 30 years of service work with
Rancho Feliz is another big one for me.
It all started on Thanksgiving 30 years
ago by a couple of my friends helping a
teacher across the border feed fifteen
orphans she took in who had been
living in rusted cars in the snow. I will
remember the images of one trip for
the rest of my life. In partnership with
two Rotary Clubs and two churches,
we pulled up in trucks with food and
blankets to feed 50,000 of the neediest
people, mostly kids and elders, who
had stood in rain and snow (at 5,000
ft.) for two days just to get a bag of
food and a blanket. Several 80-year
old grandmothers went down on their
knees in front of me, praising God for a
bag of food. That initial good will effort
turned into an organization with thou-
sands of volunteers who have raised
funds and built a 45-duplex housing
facility, maternity center, day care
center for poor mothers, a commu-
nity garden, computer literacy center,
cottage industry center, and many
famine-relief projects. One of my more
meaningful bronzes is of our founder
Gil Gillenwater and an orphaned child.
He is giving her a teddy bear for love,
a book with hope on the cover, and an
apple for sustenance. She is giving him
her only possession—a little doll made
of rags—symbolizing that when we
give, we receive.
IMAGINE: Your activism plays out in
your sculptures. Which ones convey
your strongest messages?
John: Art as encapsulated empathy
should tell a moving story, should
convey important messages, should
move people to action. Good art
documents the inherent nobility and
18 IMAGINE l FALL 2018
possibilities of the human race as well
as the atrocities.
“Steel Butterflies.” I lived in Afghani-
stan and have a great appreciation of
the resilience of the Afghan people as
their world has been under siege for
centuries. The atrocities that occurred
there during the Soviet invasion and
occupation—many directed at chil-
dren—go beyond the usual horrors
of war. The mass kidnappings, the
torture, deliberate mutilations and
maiming of children as standard pol-
icy are beyond the realms of rational
thought. I was particularly angered
to see photos of anti-personnel mines
disguised as brightly painted toy
butterflies and other toys designed to
attract and maim or kill children.
I wondered what type of mind was
capable of using a butterfly—a symbol
of beauty and innocence—to hurt chil-
dren. I felt I needed to sculpt this image
to do what I could to help expose and
eradicate this evil. I did also sculpt hope
though, for the remaining children.
The child in “Steel Butterflies” is look-
ing up, hesitating as she reaches, as if
someone is warning her off. I worked
with the daughter of the Afghan am-
bassador to Europe who had hundreds
of photos of maimed children. The
bronze was unveiled on the “Night for
the Afghan War Orphans” with Bob
Hope and many other celebrities at
the Phoenix Biltmore Hotel.
In the sense that no person is an
island, this holocaust, these atrocities,
dehumanize us all. If we allow them
to continue, or to be ignored, I fail to
see how we can think of ourselves as
compassionate or even civilized.
“Way of the Warrior.” This sculpture
is one of my special pieces created to
benefit our charitable service founda-
tion, Rancho Feliz. It was founded
by Gil Gillenwater, the man depicted
in the bronze. The child is a portrait
of a little girl who was found near
death, abandoned in a warehouse. She
was brought to our first Rancho Feliz
orphanage, where she was saved and
adopted into a good family. Gil is giv-
ing her a teddy bear for love, a book
with hope on the cover, and an apple
for sustenance. She is giving him her
only possession—a little doll made of
rags—symbolizing that when we give,
we receive. The contrast between the
impoverished girl and the macho guy
who saved her life speaks to the in-
equality of opportunity and captures
the spiritual enrichment we receive
as we empower others. In this age
of evolving consciousness, the term
“warrior” may be redefined as orga-
nizing against injustice. It takes more
strength and courage to lift someone
up than to knock them down. A war-
rior displays that strength through
responsibility and action—by stand-
ing for those in genuine need who
cannot help themselves.
“Freedom Awards.” I sculpted bronz-
es for the “Free The Slaves” organiza-
tion. These were given out to five of
the most courageous and effective
human beings each year who bravely
fought against all forms of slavery.
The female figure emerging from
a cracked and broken world, with
flames coming out, is dropping her
slave-chains as she reaches forward
and up toward salvation.
“Steve Biko.” Steve Biko was a young,
non-violent activist against racism in