When Frank Andrews first stumbled onto petroglyphs in Hawaii he was captivated immediately by their mysterious beauty. About 12 years ago, the La Cienega sculptor discovered for the first time, the petroglyph figures chipped into the pahoehoe, or lava flows, which run near the coastlines and along prehistoric trails on all Hawaii's islands. Most of the primitive images were left behind by Polynesian inhabitants, but their exact meanings are often unknown. Andrews was drawn to this mysterious quality.

"There is just something about petroglyphs being made in these very remote spots, which is mysterious," Andrews explained, then discussed their artistic merit. Some of the petroglyphs I have seen are just awful. You could tell it was done by an amateur. But then there are these others that are just masterpieces in primitive art.

He decided to translate them into sculpture, which he has been doing now for 26 years. About 50 examples of his work will be on display in his studio this week-end, as part of the 27th annual La Cienega Tour. Twenty eight other artists also are opening their studios to the public, showing everything from platinum photo prints and watercolors to tinwork and oil lamps.

For Andrews, petroglyphs have a "simplistic elegance which makes them seem almost contemporary."
However, he struggled to find an adequate technique to convey them, experimenting first with casting and then molding, before stumbling upon the right method, accidentally.

"I had one of my sculptures come back from the gallery broken and I was fixing it, welding it when I noticed that different colors were flashing on the copper as it oxidized," which was perfect, he said, because it stimulated the iridescent colors of the natural stone.

Since then, Andrews has translated about about 100 petroglyphs from Hawaii as well as the Southwest into hanging sculptures. Each petroglyph design is one of 200 edition series, and Andrews has a couple of assistants to help out with the manual labor.

The petroglyph sculptures are made from copper tubing, bent into shape, hammered flat and carefully welded with a copper alloy coating to them their irridescent colorings. They include images of dancing gods, hunters and animals, among many others.

On Tuesday, Andrews was in the process of making last minute preparations for the tour, stenciling signs and putting the last minute touches on some of his pieces.

He discussed the work involved in researching and selecting the petroglyphs images he uses in his sculptures.

He visits the sites, photographs and sketches the rock face and then returns to his studio to isolate the most expressive image from the myriad petroglyph figures.

He said he's very meticulous about the whole process and intends to continue translating petroglyphs into sculpture, maybe even visiting Australia for additional inspiration.

"I'm sort of a petroglyph purist," he said.

Frank with some of his many great sculptures at a local Santa Fe gallery.