Artists Describing Their Art:
Diana Carey - I developed a passion for the creation of metal forms while studying at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Each piece is unique and is discovered as I create it. There is no direct path from one piece to the next, instead, each evolves from the material. Once I start working on the piece I move with it as it starts taking shape. I want the metal to flow, the pieces to be light and airy, counterbalancing the rigidity of the steel I am working with. My sculptures are there to be touched and felt. Touching my sculptures can move a person along the same wavelength I felt as I was creating it. I know a piece has succeeded when I see smiles on the faces of people looking at it. People have said that my work makes them happy as they see and experience it. ...
Eric Jacobson - My work is influenced by a variety of sources from mandalas to contructivism "drawing in space" and nature: artists like David Smith, Mark Di Suvero, Miro, Picasso, etc. My current work incorporates brass tubing with mobiles and water. Some of these create sound as well. I have also created steel "frames", often octagonal that enclose a series of elements floating within this environment. I have been exploring the use of depth(perspective), color and balance in my work. I am very interested in the "layers" that make up each person's life history and mind, and therefore create layers in my sculpture to symbolize this. I often see things in the world as having an" inner and an outer", sometimes revealed to the world at large and sometimes hidden. This includes the human mind. People often keep parts of themselves hidden or protected even sometimes from themselves. Sometimes thes things are revealed in artwork. My sculptures also involve the relationship of the natural and man-made environments and the balance or imbalance between them....
Ted Schaal - Lately I have been exploring the use of two enduring materials, bronze and stainless steel. I enjoy the juxtaposition of the primitive texture in the bronze with the mirror polished modern look of the stainless. Balance and symmetry dominate simple geometric forms. These sculptures are made to last through the ages with the highest level of craftsmanship and quality metals. Most of my latest work can be scaled up for public or corporate settings and commission inquiries are welcome. With over 20 years of sculpture experience anything is possible from desk top size to monumental fountains and sculpture. ...
Sal Villano - The inspiration for creating my sculpture grew from a lifetime love of trees. I am in awe of the stately presence and silent majesty they posses. I find the structure of trees to be one of the perfections in nature. With their roots embracing the earth; in winter they show their bones, in spring gentle buds, in summer a canopy of green and in fall a magical kaleidoscope of colors. Beauty, pure beauty. ...
Bart Soutendijk - I have been making Wire Wall Murals on a commission basis since 1972. A Wire Wall Mural is the final step in a simplification process that starts with a photograph or group of photographs. I make and remake the line drawing to emphasize only the essence of the subject. I ask, myself: "What is it about this image that makes is unique." Then I strip away the lines that are not required to convey that quality. Finally, like the poet who reviews every word, I re-examine every turn and curve as I bend the wire into that image -- a large line drawing in space. The final installation, a solid line in front of a moving shadow, has scale enough to suit a large space without dominating the room. After I make a wire wall sculpture I hang it up and "live with it" for a while. Sometimes I cut away additional material, add more, or change bends before I consider the sculpture ready for a home, gallery, or museum. I say: Nothing is permanent, as long as you have pliers. ...
Louise Parenteau - ARTISTIC STATEMENT I studied fine arts at the University Of Quebec In Montreal (1986-1991). I was involved in various artistic activities in which I took a strong stand against injustice, poverty, and social exclusion. My work took shape using different methods of research and observation. I articulated my artistic approach inspired by existential human sufferings. I created portraits of individuals with unusual physical traits, expressions, deformities, attitudes... These characters inspired me to use colour in contrasts and splashes. My aim was to express the life animating the characters by an internal light. For my installations, I used a physical space to transpose socio-political situations and dramatic events. With the barest resources, my intention was to stimulate the interest of the viewer. My material supplies: Acrylic, rubbish, wood, metal, rust, polystyrene panels, personal objects, used clothing, etc. In 1995, I realized that I had reached limits with my artistic approach. I decided to have a period of questioning with the aim of going further in my research in terms of intention and expression. This process enabled me to explore, to experiment with different materials and to reposition myself using sculpture as my main form of expression. Ever...
Paul Orzech - Paul Orzech Sculpture Studio Artist Statement: The heart of my artwork is expressed by the words "Classical form with a modern edge." As an artist, I feel the need to incorporate the classic concepts of the human figure from the Ancient Greek and Italian Renaissance periods, with the more message-oriented elements of today's art. My belief in the beauty and power of the raw human form is exquisitely celebrated in the classical forms of sculpture. The modern themes I treat in my art include feminism; contemporary ideas of spirituality and love; and the all consuming presence time plays in our fast-paced American lives. I feel there is a quiet strength in the combination of established classics and contemporary expression that demonstrates a smooth continuity of social history. ...
Berthold Neutze - Artists Statement Art from wood is either turned (pretty bowl), roughly hewed (pure artistic laziness) or from selected ugliness regarding to the choice of wood. The flashy the material the less you see the sloppy work of the artist Why do I use wood after all? Besides hard and splintery beechwood? The work is risky and tedious, demands concentration and sensitivity for the material's structure - thus a challenge for craftmanship. Together with the subtle texture and unexitedly tint of beechwood that makes it to my favourite material. Beechwood allows undisguised view towards the form language. The shiny smooth surface means a distance to ,,harsh" nature to me. The outcoming piece is a picture, not copy. The tactile dimension. There is this invitation to the spectator to touch it, to feel the inherent warmth of wood, to feel out the incorporated strings and muscles to append another dimension to his phantasy. Subject follows function. My abstract -, as well as the anthropo- and zoomorphic sculptures emerge from the curiosity what other structures evolution could find - or improve - to add another niche in nature. I mostly work without preceding drawings und start to work unintentionally; the ,,idea" evolves during the progress - the ...
Deborah Robinson - I was once told that "to be taken seriously as an artist you need to think of yourself as one"....a very true thought. In the beginning I had thought of myself as someone who made dolls..just to give for gifts to friends and family....then a fantastic doll artist saw my creations and questioned as to why I wasn't thinking of myself as an artist..that I had talent and a love of what I do..yet I wasn't letting others enjoy my art...and that I needed to promote myself and let others have the means to purchase one of my sculptures. To humor her I listed one of my dolls..a faery named Fuchsia and another an elf I named Mugwort..pricing my work was an adventure in itself but with help I was taught what was required...2 days later both dolls were sold! Lesson learned...believe in yourself and others will too!...
Gadadhar Das - Artist Statement: The Proper Counseling & Guidance can change the neglected & destitute street Children as a perfect human being. I think, the discarded Tree Roots & Branches would be an attractive Art object in the same way. I collect the discarded tree roots from Forest & roadside those are lying for destroy by fire or any other way. I try to identify the basic structural pieces of the roots and branches of various trees, driven by naturally possessed artistic vision and then shaping them to various final forms like Hindu Deities, Animals and various others objects etc., which are entirely hand made sculptors out of specially selected single pieces of roots and branches of trees of various shapes and sizes. I look forward sincerely for my work to earn its due appreciation among the art lovers. ...
Tracy Buchanan - By using the human figure as a point of departure for sculpture I am trying to communicate an earthly, and emotional experience, an experience that could perhaps recall for someone an emotion or memory, or possibly generate a new sensation. We can all relate to the human figure, because we all inhabit one. The body acts as its own language, one of which is universal. We all occupy our own unique form, yet physically we share our makeup with all humankind. The work that I am producing is figurative in form and emotional in content. ...