Nevin Wetzel

Nevin Wetzel was born and raised in Price, Utah. He graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1934 and later studied sculpture at the Uni￾versity of Utah and Brigham Young University. After serving during World War II in the China-Burma-India theater, he returned home to establish an engineering company. During the 1950s he began painting and was on the board of directors of the Salt Lake Art Barn and also directed the art school there. He later devoted his time to stone carving. Wetzel had no great expectations about a career in art and was greatly surprised and pleased when people enjoyed his work. He traveled extensively in Utah, Colorado, California, and the Northwest to find ideal stone, then took three to six months to complete a piece, never beginning with a precon￾ceived notion of the finished product. His work has been exhibited in Park City and Salt Lake City, and his pieces may be found in the Salt Lake County art collection and in private collections in Washington, D.C., and throughout the West. Wetzel, who died in 1989, had this to say about his work: “I am a retired businessman who enjoys carving stone. Alabaster is my favorite stone to work with, particularly because of its pleasing color and lus￾ter. It is also relatively easy to work with. “I first became interested in carving stone while I was taking instruction at the Pioneer Craft House in Salt Lake City. Working initially with marble, I came later to other stones. Eventually, I learned more about finishing work from Dallas Anderson at Brigham Young University. I also studied the lost wax method of bronze from Angelo Caravaglia at the University of Utah. However, working in stone remains my primary interest. “I work stone in a representational manner as well as abstractly. Letting the stone dictate the end result or enhancing a feature that is appealing is my favorite approach to my abstractions.”