In about 1968 I started taking private music lessons on the flute, my instrument. The instructor that I had, Rick Staff, was being mentored by Dominick Laruccia, Jr. Had was a fantastic flute player and at 18 was performing at Carnegie Hall playing the Mozart Flute Concerto in D. Dominick was a participant at the first session of the Music Academy of the West back in the early 1950s.
Later in the fifties, he attended Berkley and graduated with a degree in organic chemistry. Out of college, he went to work at the Borax Corporation, (20 Mule Team Borax).
As a side, he continued to be part of the music scene in Orange County with chamber groups. He had a group called the DoHaBe players, Dominical, David and Buella, fellow musicians.
Somewhere around the early 1960s, Dominick resigned from his position at Borax and went into the art business. He found his niche when a person named Bob French introduced him into oxygen-acetylene welding with silver and bronze alloys.
With that style of constructivism (additive sculpting) he began to create unique pieces using copper, glass, bronze alloys, semi-precious stones, glass, gold wire.
His pieces were marketed and Gump's in San Francisco, Neiman Marcus in Dallas, America house in NY and galleries in L.A. Palm Springs and La Jolla.
I came on the scene when my flute instructor suggested I work part-time as a sculptor's assistant. I did the repetitive tasks of cutting out components, polishing the sculpted trees and other odd jobs. In the early 70s, Dominick went back to NY and left me to take care of the studio-residence. Of course, like the sorcerer's apprentice, I took up the torch and started welding my own pieces, many of which are still in my collection. My focus as been the sculpted tree-like forms with glass marbles that were a mainstay of Dominick's production.
Over the years I have managed to purchase some of his pieces made from the 60s into the 70s. WOrking for Dominick as like being with a DaVinci sort of genius. I had a Ph.D. style of education in music, art, gardening with a little chemistry thrown in.
I look forward to taking up the torch again and sculpting.
This is a link to my blog relating to my sculpting world.
Many thanks
