If you come in to Guero’s you might notice our “Austin” Christmas Tree. It was constructed by Bobby Hamric, a local artist specializing in soft sculpture and collage work. Here is a quote from Bobby describing his work.
In the soft and collage sculptures the elements create contrast, texture and depth by mixing a combination of linen, wire and found objects. Some illumination has also been added through the use of neon and other lights. My soft sculpture and collage work is fun and meant to be exciting for the viewer to find the many objects put together in a surprising format. I had just done a western chair about the Chisholm Trail with boots on the legs, turkey, horns, and cowhide. On other shapes of trees and wreaths the frame is covered with linen canvas and then wrapped with colorful ropes and chains. Playful characters and toys are attached along with spiritual icons, horseshoes, and good luck omens. The result is meant to be somewhat baffling and at the same time infused with nostalgia, whimsey, and disturbance that the combination stirs-up in one’s psyche. By putting these elements together in a new or unperceived format, i.e. chairs, trees, wreaths, guitars, boxes; shapes are put into a new perspective when covered with kitchy trivia, toys, memorabilia, and whirling movement as a result of the ropes and wire. The result can be mystifying and spiritual sometimes, but is shocking and comfortable also.