Sculptor Daniel Patrick Murphy
Religious Sculptures by President of Open Door Fellowship, USA
Nov 28, 2008
Rev. Daniel Patrick Murphy was 21 years old when he sculpted three biblical figures: David, John the Baptist and Moses. He was self-taught and was absolutely unaware of the technical aspects of sculpting. His works were beautiful and moving, attesting to his as yet undiscovered faith, a faith that suddenly became real as he read the gospel of St.John.
Depression
Daniel was born in Ketchikan, Alaska, but moved to Seattle, Washington when very young. The product of a family that did not have any religious connections, Daniel was at one time a very depressed young man – depressed to the point of considering suicide. But after reading the gospel he became a different man; he had felt the presence of God and that presence was so strong that it changed his life radically.
Juried Show
After spending two years in the military he decided that he wanted to become an evangelist and a sculptor. So while at the Seattle Bible College he built wood and glass frames for the three sculptures he had done earlier but had not fired. He entered them into a juried show; however, he received a letter telling him that his work had been rejected. Discouraged, he went to pick the works up and a few blocks into the trip home he had to brake suddenly to avoid a head-on crash.
Broken Sculptures
The sculptures had smashed into thousands of pieces. As he jumped out of the car the words of Matthew 7, verse 27 came to him: "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house: and it fell. And great was its fall." That house, of course, had been built on sand. And Daniel realized that his sculptures had crashed because they had not been through the fire.
First Sculpture
The first sculpture Murphy did of Jesus sold for $5,000 after having been exhibited for only five minutes.He went on to do many more remarkable works and a large sculpture of the crucified Christ won 'best of show' at Olympia, Washington in the 1990s. Many miniature versions of this work have sold for $500. Several sculptures can be seen on his website.
Belgium and Church Work
In 2000 Murphy went to Belgium to get away from things. He was fatigued from too many art shows and felt that he had burned out. He still sculpted in an effort to refine his art, but he also assisted the pastor of the church Arc of the Glory of God in Brussels. He was married in Brussels but the marriage did not work out and he returned to the United States alone in 2007.
Open Door Fellowship
In 2007 Daniel returned to Wenatche, Washington, where he is now president of the Open Door Fellowship, a US non-denominational Christian organization. Murphy's work is Christian in character and is a testimony to his love of God and the Christian life. His latest sculpture is of Jesus looking down from the clouds with the nail marks by his wrists showing. He has already sold nine of these, and they range in price from $800 to$1,000.
Christian Life
Murphy says, "You can act like a Christian, speak like a Christian, behave as you believe a Christian would behave, but your trials and tribulations will locate you, show you what you are made of." He has dedicated his life to God, both in his vocation as a minister and in his career as a sculptor. His works are moving and sought after because he puts a part of himself into every one.
Source
- Personal conversations with Daniel Patrick Murphy, November, 2008
For further reading about art see Artist Lorena Bowser
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