Loudoun Sculptor Is a Master of His Craft

Loudoun Sculptor Is a Master of His Craft

By Joe Motheral

Jeff Hall’s vast studio inside a 100-year-old barn just outside Lovettsville is filled with a wide array of his sculpture and has a museum-like feel.

Many of his works feature wellknown, famous names. There’s a bust of former Vice President Dan Quayle, with the original in the U.S. Capitol Building. Another, in bronze, is Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, with the original in Sheridan Square in downtown Washington.

Jeff Hall in his Lovettsville studio.

Photos by Joe Motheral

His most famous work: “Martin Luther King, Jr., in Aurora, Colorado and Stanley Caulkins,” he said. A replica of the King statue stands at the entrance to Jeff’s studio. He was commissioned to do the piece by the King Library in Aurora and completed it in 2015.

Stanley Caulkins never leaves that bench.

The Caulkins sculpture has been on display siting on a bench in downtown Leesburg since 2019. Caulkins was the late long-time owner of a Leesburg jewelry store and once was named Loudoun County Person of the Year.

“It’s strange how the fame rubs off on you,” he said. “It’s funny that it works that way because you sculpted a famous person.”

His most recent piece is entitled “Upward Struggle” and depicts school children. The work was commissioned by Loudoun County Public Schools. Another favorite was done for a skate park in Leesburg.

“I made it out of steel and it was difficult with all the grinding and welding and preparing for paint,” he said. “It’s like restoring a car.”

The 10-foot-high sculpture depicts silhouettes of high riding skateboarders and fits the location perfectly.

“I have a piece right now called Man Balancing Nature,” he said. ”I sculpted it quite a few years ago. Finally had a buyer. It’s in bronze and it’s a piece where man is balanced on the world. It’s man and nature with the elements: fish, birds and air. The statue of man holding a hoop as if trying to control nature and if he messes with the fundamental elements then the balance is off.“

For his regular sculpting, his process involves encasing a supporting piece of metal with occasional attachments in foam which he carves into some semblance of the sculpture he’s working on. Then he surrounds the carved foam with a thickness of clay. He uses an oil-based clay to maintain its flexibility while shaping the figure.

Once completed, Jeff uses a rubber molding to reproduce the shape of the figure. After removing the rubber molding, he fills it with plaster to duplicate the sculpture so he can reconstruct the piece in case of some failure in the first go round. From the mold, he can cast the figure in bronze or resins like bonded marble.

Jeff said he’s interested in slowing down a bit, “But things seem to be speeding up. I’m getting more commissions--yes, because of Stanley Caulkins and Martin Luther King Jr. I’ve been getting a lot of calls.”

Jeff also breeds horses on his 30 acre property.

“We have a stallion named Art Deco,” he said. “We breed German pinto horses. We started this when we bought the property in 1985 and it has spun out of control. But it’s a good way to make a living.”