Gabriel and Elsie, his beloved CNC

Gabriel has always loved art, but he combined it with his technical side, so he studied architecture. At first he made his work out of paper, overlaying several layers carefully cut and colored, resulting in beautiful 3D images. He didn't need much for his art, so for a while his studio was a corner of his bedroom, and the raw material was old magazines collected from various storage rooms.

But then he discovered wood and started working with it. He used tackle the way he used paper, cutting it out and overlapping it to get the pattern.

With wood he was able to get much closer to what he wanted. He began to make elaborate works very similar to the representation of the universe in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism (mandala).

Because of the sheer volume of work, the time to complete a job was very long. Each layer that had to be cut to a precise pattern took up a lot of his time. He realized that most of the time spent on the work was not for the artistic part. The time would be greatly reduced if he had a laser CNC. Only it was very expensive. So he decided to turn to www.kickstarter.com, which helps artists of all kinds find the resources and support to realize their ideas.

In fact, it was not his first experience of this kind. When his art was only on paper he managed to raise some funds to finance himself. He created a website campaign showcasing his entire project, promising those who donated his work. He told them that the works would be limited editions, that after the campaign was over he would never revisit those themes, that the works would be complete and ready to put on the wall and shipped, at no extra cost, anywhere in the world.

The campaign was a total success. Gabriel's initial goal was to raise 10,000 dollars to buy the car and rent a workshop space. The campaign raised over 50,000 dollars.

Now Gabriel Schama has his own studio where he works, as he says, with Elsie, his beloved CNC. He uses mahogany plywood, which he cuts, colors, glues and finishes to create truly wonderful images. He says his art is aesthetic rather than conceptual. He likes to think of himself as a continuator of the ancient craftsmen who adorned fabrics, building facades and palaces from ancient times.

Gabriel has honored all his commissions to those who have supported him and is now invited to exhibit his work in well-known museums. In the meantime, he has also started to realize very interesting portraits. Last year he had an exhibit at The Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia, and now his work is on display for a 3-month period at the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, California.

The story of young artist Gabriel Schama, from Oklahoma, USA, is one of those success stories that, as soon as you read it, you say "it's too good, it can't be true". And yet it is. The important thing is to know what you want and take things one step at a time, doing them well and with passion.

source: gabrielschama.com