Self-Expression

In A Home Of Art

By Shannon Hicks

Visitors to the Hornak home in Sandy Hook often feel as if they are entering not only a dwelling but also an art gallery.

A hallway off the home’s kitchen is filled with gouache and pencil drawings by Jack Hornak primarily depicting his children, although a favorite drawing of Mr Hornak’s father also has a place of honor. Go down a few steps into the family room and the feeling of being within an exhibition space is unmistakable –– the walls are filled with framed oils of children, studies of drummers, and other subjects including his wife’s father. The room also features a few paintings by Mr Hornak’s older daughter Allie.

Jack Hornak is a self-taught artist. He has done paintings and drawings all his life, but added sculpture to his oeuvre about five or six years ago. The family room is loaded with his sculpture done in metal; there are large cats, a tall almost folksy looking star, a face that has an eerie story behind it, and other pieces that are much more abstract in nature.

“Art is a way of life,” said Mr Hornak, who finds inspiration “everywhere –– while I’m playing with my kids, out on the boat, driving the car. It just comes to me, and I play with it.” The Hornaks live on property that borders Lake Zoar, which also offers inspiration through its grand sweeping views of the water. The calmness of the water itself also serves as a muse.

“There’s always something happening out there,” Mr Hornak said.

The recent sculpture pieces are primarily sheet metal that has been welded or brazed together. The sculptures begin with drawings, but many are still abstract. The welding is done in the family garage. Mr Hornak enjoys working during the earliest morning hours while the rest of his family is sleeping. With winter quickly approaching, he says he still looks forward to working during those wee hours because the heat from the welding torch keeps the garage warm.

After drawing –– first as a sketch and then at actual size –– what will become each sculpture, Mr Hornak transfers his drawing to 20 gauge sheet metal and then starts cutting. The colors of the sculpture come from brass that is used on the seams (resulting in a gold color when the metal cools), or adding more heat to areas of the sheet metal, and in some cases even putting paint onto the metal.

He enjoys working on the sculpture, but never forces himself to head out to the garage just for the sake of working.

“An artist needs to be inspired,” he said. “It very difficult sometimes. It isn’t something I can force,” added Mr Hornak, who said there have been times when he will start a drawing but then put it away because he cannot complete it to his liking, but then comes across the drawing months later and sees what needs to be done. “The best part is coming up with ideas and then seeing how those ideas develop.”

Mr Hornak’s artist statement reflects his deep belief of self-expression “Art is a study of life, a series of impressions waiting to be expressed in a medium of the artist’s choice. My metal sculptures depict an interaction or interpretation of a spiritual relationship.”

Residents may remember seeing some of his work last Christmas season, when Mr Hornak displayed some of his sculpture in the vestibule of St John’s Church in Sandy Hook during the Annual Holiday Festival. The Hornaks are members of the Episcopal church in Sandy Hook.

One of his more recent pieces is “Christ on The Cross,” which began as a simple sculpture of an unspecific face. Mr Hornak began working two years ago on the piece, which is tall –– more than six feet –– and wide –– more than six feet in that dimension as well. It was while working on that sculpture that 9/11 occurred.

“It’s eerie how you look at this now and it’s clearly the face of Jesus,” Mr Hornak said. The sculpture’s bronze seams today look like gold, but will eventually rust to make the seams less dramatic. That part, at least, was what the artist had in mind for the work all along.

“Art needs to be able to just flow out of you,” says the father of two girls, both of whom have artistic leanings. He says daughter Allie, who did a mural at Newtown High School of her hands holding Earth, is “a phenomenal artist,” while younger daughter Jackie is “also gifted and still developing. They’re both very artistic.” Mr Hornak’s wife Joann is a teacher at Fraser-Woods School.

Mr Hornak does a lot of painting work on commission, although he has also done sculpture on order. He had exhibitions of his paintings and drawings when he was younger, and has also shown his work in schools and banks in and around Newtown, but would like to begin showing more of his sculpture in the near future.

“The trouble is, paintings and drawings you can hang on a wall but with sculpture you need more space,” he said.