Isaac Mock’s classical sculpting career had its genesis, appropriately, from an egg. Measuring 12 inches tall and eight-inches in diameter, Mock’s very first sculpture - that familiar, bottom-heavy orb we all know so well - was completed during his mid-40’s in an art class at the University of Georgia.
Now, 17 years later, Mock has breathed life into nearly 100 marble and bronze pieces of such astounding realism you feel the figures will, at any moment, break their fixed gaze and strike up a conversation. Marble’s texture, Mock said, can even mimic human skin if the piece is crafted properly.
Nearly every sculpture Mock has carved has been honored, including his first human-figure piece, “Artemidorus,” which won Georgia Marble’s John Carney Award in 1993 --- the year after Mock sculpted the foot-tall egg at UGA. Mock has also completed dozens of commission pieces that have traveled around the globe, and began work on a Native American statue for Robert Redford in 1996.
“I began sculpting because I love the human form. Our anatomy, especially the female anatomy, is absolutely beautiful. It doesn’t matter if you are obese or saggy, it’s fascinating,” Mock told us from his home studio in Ellabell, Ga., just 30 miles west of Savannah on Interstate 16. “When I took those classes at UGA I wasn’t after a degree. I paid for the class, but didn’t get any credit. Honestly, though, I don’t think you can be taught classical art. We learned the tools, but I had to learn the technique myself.”
While Mock didn’t carve his first marble statue until well into his adult life, the Georgia native’s artistic talent was recognized early on. “When I was eight I would go into the store where my father worked and draw on the paper bags. I drew a fountain and a man saw it. He completely bypassed my father and called the principal of my school. It was a Jewish man and he paid for me to go to Telfair Academy of Art for two years. The teachers told me I was a prodigy,” Mock said.
“It’s funny, though, I never thought art would be a part of my life. I came from a meager background with uneducated parents who didn’t know how to push and pursue education.”
Mock, who is down-to-earth and easy to talk to, never actually graduated from high school, opting, rather, to run away from home at a fledgling 14 years of age and embark on a four-year stint in the Marine Corps, an experience that, “gave me a home and put me in the right direction.”
Mock then worked in heavy construction in Washington, D.C. for a decade before moving back to Ga. and running an extremely successful development and restoration business of his own for 20 years, while doing children’s murals on the side. Later, after the '92 art classes, Mock did commission work through Georgia Marble.
“The on-site president at the time saw my work at one of the Marble Festival shows, I think is how it went, and he commissioned several pieces from me. I worked on several religious pieces while I was there, but the thing I didn't like about it was that they would just give you blueprints. It was always someone else's work...I never even met with the clients. ”
Currently, Mock is doing art full time from south Georgia, and he will demonstrate his artistry on a full-size figure at the chamber of commerce building during the Marble Festival.
“I’ve got a surprise for Pickens county,” Mock sheepishly told us. It wasn’t long into the interview, however, before Mock spilled the proverbial beans.
“I saw this great layout of Cindy Crawford while I was at UGA. She was in different positions so I could see her front, back and side. But the piece of marble I had was seven feet tall and people were telling me I couldn’t get a full figure from a seven foot piece, but I did. It was 12 inches thick and 18 inches wide and they said I couldn’t get full shoulders from that. But I did what Michaelangelo did with David and turned the piece and it gave me 23 inches for the shoulders.”
Mock has spent the last 17 years working on the figure on and off, and will transport the 1,200 lb. piece from south Georgia to Pickens to, again, pick up work.
Unfortunately, Mock told us, the sculpture had run-in with his brother who, “broke the nose right off. I had to redo the whole face and lost about one and a quarter inches during the reconstruction process. She’s still got a good face, it just doesn’t look exactly like Cindy anymore.”
Beyond putting the final touches on Mrs. Crawford during the Marble Festival, Mock has other lofty plans for Pickens, a place he hopes to call home in the near future.
“I am currently seeking a place to live up there and I want to have something to give to the community. I envision one of the best communal art colonies in the world being located there,” he said. “The town of Jasper is ready for it and the area is ready for it. I believe with the help of the chamber, and with Georgia Marble being right there, something big is going to happen. Jasper would be phenomenal for the art world.”
Mock will demonstrate his craft at the camber of commerce building the entire weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, and will also answer questions festival-goers conjure up while they watch him work.
The Georgia native is uncertain if he will enter a piece in this year's competition, but he will have other pieces on display and everything, he says, is available for purchase.
"You know, I've entered that competition about five times, and I don’t know if I’ll do it again. But, you know, the best award I've received was the Kid's Choice Award at that festival. When a child says they love something, there's no bias. That's strict honesty...And being a classical sculptor I love the human form and figure, but you want your work to look beautiful, not crude. If it's something you can't show to a child it's missing something to me."
Look for Isaac Mock (and Cindy) at this year’s Marble Festival, Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4.
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| Isaac Mock will be working on-site at this year's Georgia Marble Festival, Saturday October 3 and Sunday October 4. See the special festival insert in this week's edition of the Progress. |
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