Messenger - Vol. 4, No. 4, Page 2 1995 Allmond's Joy I might have been unhappy if I had realized that I was a sculptor at an earlier age," says Charles Allmond, Delaware '53, '57, who first put chisel to stone when he was over 50 years old. "I probably would have starved to death if I had to depend on art for a livelihood," says Allmond, a lawyer and former agronomist. "Perhaps it's for the best that this came late in life for me." For the Wilmington, Del., sculptor, his artistic career is certainly a case of better late than never. The recipient of numerous awards for his sculpture, Allmond earlier this year left his law practice to concentrate full-time on his art. He also was recently elected president of the Society of Animal Artists, a prestigious, international organization of some 300 painters and sculptors. "It's not that unusual to turn to sculpture later in life," notes Allmond, whose works range from figurative alabaster animals to large, abstract pieces such as Ode to Joy, which graces the entrance to the University's Morris Library-a gift of the class of 1953. "It takes awhile for that part of your psyche to develop. Maybe it's there but not ready to come out. All those life experiences help." Allmond has enjoyed a lifetime of experiences. As a child, he loved to draw but decided to pursue science as a career. At Delaware, Allmond earned degrees in agriculture and agronomy and later worked as a seed analyst and as manager of a crop dusting company. He also served in the U.S. Coast Guard for five years. After receiving a law degree from Temple University, he went into private practice in Wilmington. He served as president of Allmond, Eastburn & Benge from 1980 until 1993, when he decided to scale back his practice to three days a week and focus on sculpting. In February, partly at the urging of his wife, Frances, Delaware '53, he left his law practice entirely. "There are no drawbacks-except you don't make any money," he says of his decision. "It's a very satisfying life, but not highly remunerative." Along the way from attorney to sculptor, Allmond tried various crafts. He made furniture, restored antiques and helped Frank Schoonover, a local illustrator, frame some of his works. Allmond considered taking painting classes, but he was always too busy, especially with the demands and responsibilities of his practice and raising a family. He and Frances have two children, Bayard W. III, Delaware '79, and Susan Allmond Long, Delaware '80. Then, in 1982, Allmond's father died. "It was a sudden jolt to me," he says. "I realized that none of us is immortal and that if I were going to do something in the artistic vein, I might as well get started." His first foray into the three-dimensional was a success. He produced wooden carvings that resembled folk art. Allmond moved on to soapstone, and then he was hooked. "It was like a door opened," he said. "Creating sculpture came naturally. I never treated it as a hobby. The more I got into it, the more fascinated I became." And so began Allmond's double life: He would practice law all day and then sculpt each weeknight until 10 p.m. and all day on weekends in his home studio. His goal was to make sculpture his business. Toward that end, Allmond began to sell his works through galleries and to enter juried competitions. His works have been exhibited at such venues as the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia, the Agora Gallery and the Central Park Zoo Gallery in New York City, Pennsylvania State University and the Rehoboth (Del.) Art League. They have garnered awards including Woodmere's Ellen Lee Walker Amelia Prize, winner of the Soho International Art Competition and the Award of Excellence from the Society of Animal Artists. Allmond also has participated in many national traveling exhibitions, sponsored by the Society of Animal Artists. Currently, he is represented locally by Hardcastle's Gallery in Wilmington and Newark and the Delaware Art Museum Sales and Rental Gallery in Wilmington, as well as by galleries in New Mexico and Florida. In 1987, his budding artistic career took a giant step forward when Allmond applied and gained admission to the Society of Animal Artists-the only artist accepted out of 40 applicants that year. "It's a good way to meet other artists and get constructive criticism of your work," Allmond says of the society, which, among other activities, holds an annual juried show of its members' works. "The whole idea is to promote animal art as a legitimate fine art form." Allmond's studio has grown along with his career. His first workspace was little more than a glorified backyard shed. In 1990, he built his current studio-about the size of a two-car garage and featuring a 12-foot ceiling, large windows on four sides and a loading dock. Plus, there is room to store the alabaster, which Allmond orders in one-ton quantities from mines in Utah and Colorado. (The rocks weigh anywhere from 25 to 125 pounds each and come in more than two dozen shades of green, brown, white and pink. A ton will last Allmond two to three years.) From the beginning, Allmond has alternated between abstract pieces and recognizable figures of animals. The ideas for his large, abstract works, such as Ode to Joy, come from his imagination, while his animal pieces are rooted in reality. When fashioning an elephant, owl or starfish, Allmond consults his personal library to check out the animal's features and characteristics. He is careful to use books as a reference only; the actual look of an animal is his own. "I don't like the idea of copying a photograph or someone else's work," says Allmond, who draws directly on the stone with a piece of charcoal. "I usually end up with something pretty close to what I had in mind when I started." -Robert DiGiacomo, Delaware '88