About Dale Zarrella

A Foreword by Dewitt Jones (National Geographic Photographer, Academy-Award Nominated Filmmaker, and Keynote Speaker)

Dale Zarrella is a true master.  Master Visionary, master artist, master craftsman.  There are many who claim to be a master of one of these arenas, almost none in all three.

Master visionary: Whether he is modeling clay to manifest figures he sees in his mind or coaxing a face to appear in a piece of driftwood, Dale has an extraordinary imagination.  His works are as fresh and exuberant as they are nuanced and complex.

Master artist: Before the images in Dales mind can become reality, they must pass through his artist heart.  Here is where he chooses the composition, the gesture, the color, the texture, the expression that will transform a piece from a mere representation into a sentient being of stone or bronze or wood.

Master Craftsman: Vision without technique is blind.  If so, then Dale has eyes in his hands.  Why are there so few great carvers in this world? Because it is an immensely difficult medium.  There are no “undos”, there is no going back.  Every stroke of the chisel drives you on toward your vision, or destroys it.  You must follow the wood, yet bend it to your will at the same time.

In Dale-craft, art and vision all combine into something extraordinary.

Then there is Dale, the man.  You would search long and hard to find someone more passionate, more caring, more fun-loving, more alive.  Yes, Dale has made art his life, but he has also made life his art.  At this too he is a master.  When “unknown” wrote the quote below, no doubt he was speaking of Dale.

“A master draws no sharp distinction between work and play.  His labor and leisure, his mind and body, his education and recreation, he hardly knows which is which.  He simply pursues his vision of excellence and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing.  To him, he always seems to be doing both.”

Dale Zarrella is truly one of a kind.  Enjoy, now, both his life and his Art.

Dale Zarrella Molokai Tour
Dale Zarrella Chainsaw