Artist Statement...
Jim Roberts 
Jim believes in trying new things and discovering new talents within himself. His journey to becoming a sculpture artist has been a self directed one, from designing and building a large log home and making hunting knives, to his current love of carving bears.
For his medium Jim uses stone that can be hand carved – soapstone, alabaster, and others that are chosen for their texture, color, and natural beauty. The stone is worked using a variety of methods starting with a rough cutout, shaping, setting a balance, fine detailing with hand files, wet sanding to a smooth luster, and then a clear lacquer finish.
The techniques Jim uses are based on past observation of what works and what enables him to achieve the outcome he sees for a particular stone. Each handcrafted sculpture evolves into a unique creation as his work progresses and he begins to see elements in the stone he may want to emphasize.
Why does Jim carve "Dancing Bears"?
He has admired bears for many years and carving them has become a work of love. They constantly provide inspiration for new positions and fresh ideas.
Jim’s sculptures have expanded over the years to include other stone carvings such as abstract pieces, fish, chalices, whale tails, and crosses, some incorporating mixed media. Dancing bears are still his greatest joy however, because of the joy and movement that they express and the happiness that they bring to their owners.
Jim designs his work to be pleasing to look at, a pleasure to own, and a sculpture that will endure for many years.
List of shows and galleries:
- Semantics Gallery - Edmonds, WA
- Best of the Northwest - Seattle, WA
- "has" A Kirkland Gallery - Kirkland, WA
- Northwest Artists' Holiday Show - Edmonds, WA
- Art Merchant International Gallery - Monroe WA
- Lynch & Kennedy Gallery - Skagway, Alaska
- Edmonds Art Festival - Edmonds, WA
- Edmonds Juried Gallery - Edmonds, WA
- East Shore Gallery - Bellevue, WA
- Olympic Gallery - Shelton, WA
- Private collections in New York, Washington, California, Virginia, Oregon, Idaho, and Canada