Robert Byron Gottschall is the quintessential artist, a cosmopolitan free spirit who, by his imagination and skill, has created objects of startling beauty and attracted attention from the rich and famous, but a man of simple tastes who prefers life in a "natural setting," away from the bright lights of the city. Artist Robert Gottschalls

Gottschall, who describes himself as a "fifth-generation Texan," was actually born in Los Angeles, California. His first memories were from Japan, where his father served as part of the occupation force from 1949-53. That experience, along with a later two-year stay in Taiwan, helped shape his unique outlook on life even after his family returned to Texas following his father’s retirement from the military in 1963.

There were a few signs of artistic talent in Robert’s younger years; he recalls making dinosaurs of clay, a wood sailboat, and (in 7th grade) carving the heads of four famous English poets from soap.

After two years at Texas Tech in Lubbock and a short stint in the Naval Reserve, Gottschall got behind the wheel of his Chevy van in April of 1970, with the goal of going "as far up in the mountains as I could get."

He broke down in an "awesomely wonderful place," near the town of Bellingham, in northern Washington. There, in a borrowed cabin, he began his artistic career by carving eating utensils from wood. Soon he was carving full-time, and people started buying his creations. He learned from Morey Alexander, the premier totem sculptor on the West Coast, and his reputation and confidence grew. He began working with rock and metal, as well as with wood.

From 1972 to 1976, he lived in Dripping Springs, where he became active with the Texas Arts and Crafts Foundation and sold a wide variety of art and custom jewelry. He then moved to Colorado, where he lived simply in a mountain cabin near Aspen.

It was there that a truck with a load of logs broke down in front of the cabin, and Gottschall invited the drivers into ...

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