SCULPTURE IN THE SOUTH - Key Persons
Adrianne Winer was born in Rochester, NY. She studied sculpture at the Rochester Art Gallery and took courses in sculpture at the University of Buffalo when she moved there with her two children. Like many artists, she juggled the responsibilities of parenthood with the desire to create. When her children began college, Adrianne returned to college as well to resume her art studies. She graduated from Daemon College in Buffalo, NY, with a BFA degree and an abiding love for creating sculpture.
She focuses mainly on the female figure, working in bronze, stainless steel and stone. Leaving minutely-detailed sculpture to others, her work has organic and tactile qualities with smooth surfaces that call out for the viewer's touch.
During her professional career spanning 24 years, she has been represented in galleries in New York, Florida, Michigan, and Oklahoma. She has been selected for participation in the Loveland (CO) Invitational Sculpture Show since 2002. She has been commissioned to create life-size sculpture for private collectors, and has pieces (as she says) "living in" locations from Toronto to the Florida Keys.
Sculpture has always been Alex's passion. Through the years, he has sought to learn from his fellow artists around the globe. Since arriving in the United States, he has studied with Tuck Langland, Leonda Finke, Dawn Saunders, Carter Jones, and Eugene Daub, among others. He is a member of the
Oxford Arts Society and the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) where for 3 year he served as Vice President. He is also a member of the American Medallic Sculpture Association. Alex's work is in private and public collections around the world and in galleries in Carmel, California, Charleston and Florence, South Carolina, and Haifa, Israel.
Not many artists are sure at a very early age that the art world will be their calling, but Allen Weidhaas was an exception. By the age of 16, he was intently focused on expressing himself through some form of visual art. Born and raised in Massachusetts, he had been captivated by the work of Daniel Chester French who created the Minuteman monument in Lexington and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Beginning his undergraduate studies at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana, he later transferred to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to concentrate on art. After graduation in 1974, he worked as a graphic designer-illustrator in the advertising industry, but gradually was drawn more and more to three-dimensional work.
In 1976 he embarked on a three-year period of self-study in sculpture, exploring different techniques and materials. He dedicated himself to countless hours of training, resulting in the fulfillment of turning to sculpture as a profession. For years, he worked primarily in wood in order to achieve the extremely detailed works for which he is known, but he had also worked in bronze, stone and clay. In 1996, he returned to working in bronze sculpture with a new emphasis on limited editions.
His style is realism, and he credits the works of Frederick Remington, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and the afore-mentioned Daniel Chester French as having a marked influence on him. He enjoys a wide variety of subject matter, including wildlife, still life, and hunting and fishing figurative works.
His sculpture is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Virginia History in Richmond, and has been exhibited at the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach. He has recently been commissioned to create a monument of the famous Civil War Confederate General "JEB" Stuart to be portrayed in his youth. The monument will be installed on his birthplace property in Stuart, Virginia.
Andi Mascareñas graduated from Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design in 1984 with an illustration degree but soon left illustration to pursue three-dimensional work. Whether ballet or other forms of dance, figurative movement is what has inspired Andi's work over the years. In the beginning of her career, Andi explored other sculpture mediums such as stone but found the flexibility of clay adaptive to her ability to sculpt on location and create the impressionistic style in her work. She uses warm earth clays, which can be fired at high temperatures and then applies a metal application on the surface of her sculptures. She deliberately and directly applies chemicals over the surface, which creates her beautiful patinas.
Coming from a Latin background, Andi Mascareñas has surrounded herself with a culture that has taken her around the world exploring and immersing her in the tapestries of other countries. Joshua Cain, her son, has been an inspiration to her throughout her art career. Always inspiring her with stories of humor she has woven into her artwork. She sculpts on location wherever she can because "it connects me directly with my subject and where I can experience the richness of the culture of everyday life," says Andi. She travels with her husband, Master oil painter, Kim English enjoying both sculpturing in clay when possible but also oil painting. Being a diverse artist, Andi's oil paintings show the enjoyment she has in painting boats, landscapes, and harbors. However, painting the figure is always central in her work. "Painting on location is exhilarating for me. It gives me the ability to feel the energy of another culture in a different manner than sculpture. But I have found that painting gives energy to my sculpture and sculpting gives energy to my paintings, how I experience my world with form and color," says Andi."
Andi's sculptures have been recognized by national art publications such as Southwest Art magazine and Sculpture Pursuit magazine. For the past 11 years, Andi has been invited to participate in the prestigious Sculpture in the Park Show in the Benson Sculpture Garden in Loveland Colorado one of the largest sculpture shows in the US. She has also been involved in numerous Gallery and group shows. Her artwork is collected throughout America and abroad.
Always fascinated by animals, Andrea Wilkinson grew up watching them, loving them - and drawing them. Her interest in animals led her to a B.S. in Zoology from Oklahoma State University, with the idea of being able to work in close proximity with them. She now resides in Texas and volunteers at the Houston Zoo, where she educates children about wildlife and conservation. Her venture into sculpting came about almost by accident, despite her continued interest in drawing and oil painting.
She had little exposure to sculpture until she began attending sculpture shows with her sister, sculptor Jane Rankin. After attending the shows, she began seeking out sculpture workshops, and participated in workshops in New Mexico and Arizona. She's studied with Lincoln Fox, Eugene Daub, Dan Ostermiller and Sandy Scott, to each of whom she gives her gratitude for their willingness to share their knowledge and experience with novices thirsty for information.
Her devotion to animals through the years made her choice of subject matter simple: animals. "I love to watch them move," she declares. "They each have a natural grace and rhythm that is unique to their species . . . the way they're put together, and how Nature has modified everything from their bone structure to their coverings (fur, scales, feathers), to the exquisite sharpening of specific senses to create unique animals to fill unique niches. I'm not really trying to send any messages through my art - just trying to convey my own respect, fascination, and joy that we get to share our planet with all these marvelous creatures."
That concentrated focus has enabled her to advance rapidly in her chosen arena of sculpture, and she's already completed a memorial commission of two wrestling lion cubs for the Houston Zoo. She's excited about the future possibilities, including participating in sculpture events with her sister, Jane Rankin.
Dale Weiler began his art career at age 45, having honored his father's wishes that he pursue a more "financially rewarding" profession than the arts. Since his father was a world-renowned wildlife watercolorist and understood the vagaries of that world, Dale did his best to avoid the realm. But his love for art and his need to express himself artistically became too strong a force, and in 1992 he began to sculpt.
He describes himself as a sculptor of stone. When asked why he chose this medium, he answers that "the feel of the stone" and the technical challenge of working with the most unforgiving medium of all art forms probably were the driving forces. And then he adds, with a laugh, that maybe it chose him. The idea of imparting movement, suppleness and power into an inert mass of alabaster, marble or steatite is both challenging and exhilarating.
His entrée into the art world has been nothing less than dramatic. Armed with his father's artistic gift and his pent-up passion for artistic creation, he's been catapulted into a new life that has embraced and honored his talents. Accepted into the prestigious Society of Animal Artists, his work has been showcased in museums including the Mystic Seaport Maritime Museum in Connecticut and the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum in New Jersey. In 1995, father-and-son artists were honored with a joint exhibit titled "Weiler and Weiler: The Vision Continues" at the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vermont. This year, the renowned Ward Museum in Salisbury, Maryland will host an exhibit of his work from May through August.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Admitting to be "a closet sculptor" since the age of 12, David Pollard has been a professional sculptor since 1996, well after he obtained Bachelors degrees in Business Administration and Management Information Systems. With an art education that has been wide and varied, David has preferred studying directly with well-known artists over the years, beginning serious study of classical figurative sculpture in Loveland, Colorado in 1992. His training has included time with such widely acclaimed artists as Smithsonian-collected sculptor Graham Weathers; Blair Buswell, official sculptor of the NFL Hall of Fame; National Sculpture Society Fellows Fritz White, Lincoln Fox and Tuck Langland; and acclaimed southwestern artist Star Liana York.
Now living in Charlotte, North Carolina, he devotes his full commitment to sculpture. He concentrates principally on gallery presentations as well as private commissions and monuments, with his works found in many private collections across the United States. David recently completed a private commission of former Olympic World Champion Disabled skier, Dan Ashbaugh, as well as the women's reigning World 9-Ball Champion Billiards Player, Allison Fisher. David feels that sculpture is an important, lasting way of commemorating the past and reminding us of the strength and courage demonstrated by the legendary heroes that have shaped our present life in America.
An active member of the National Sculpture Society, he was one of only six sculptors to exhibit at the new Airlie Gardens Fine Art Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina, and was accepted to participate in Loveland, Colorado's "Sculpture in the Park," event in 2003 and has been invited to return in 2004. This is his first year participating in "Sculpture in the South."
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
David fell in love with the Lowcountry in 1997 when his daughter came to the College of Charleston. His love of the Lowcountry found expression in sculptures of the wildlife and gentle flow of this beautiful country.
David's sculpture develops from a shape, or texture, that catches root in his imagination. A twisted piece of steel, or quiet time on the water, inspires an image. He sketches the shapes and motion onto sheets of metal, he cuts and begins to shape and stretch the metal to create the flowing edges and bulges of motion. David's inspiration comes from fleeting memories of the flowing tides, and motions of water, wind, and flight.
He carves stone and wood, but direct metal is his current passion. Metals are cut, folded, hammered, rolled, and heated into shape. The torch brings a rainbow of colors to the freshly worked copper. The chemical dyes and patinas that he uses adds burnished leather, jade green, or velvety turquoise to the pallet.
Diana Reuter-Twining "Dynamic." The word is an apt description of this energetic artist as well as her work. None of her animal creations are traditionally posed, but seem to be in the throes of an attack or chase, or sublimely having fun, although her languid octopus draped over a bowl does look as relaxed as any octopus you could imagine. Several generations surrounded her as she grew up on the family farm in Virginia and gave her an appreciation of Nature and our inextricable connections with it. But it was probably a trip to East Africa in the sixties, accompanying her father on a photographic shoot for National Geographic, that awoke the artist beneath the naturalist. She apprenticed as a photographer with the magazine and later expanded her artistic breadth with a Masters in Architecture and studies in sculpture at the Corcoran School of Art, Loveland Academy of Art and the Scottsdale Artists' School. Her enthusiasm for her subjects is visible in her creations, with none of her works simply a study in anatomy. Life is infused in each, which has to come from personal and intimate experience with them in the wild. She and her husband, Ned, divide their time between Africa and the southern United States. Of her relationship with wildlife, she says, "I am fascinated with animals and their psychology and hope that my work helps to bring an awareness of their world, which is one we are only beginning to understand." She is committed to the Africat Foundation, which helps preserve the habitat of the Namibian cheetah. She has recently widened her repertoire to create figurative and imaginative works incorporating fantasy and fun, and somehow, also manages to maintain an architectural practice. (Sculpture title: Grasshopper)
Strictly speaking, if you had to classify Diane Mason's sculpture, it would be called "animal sculpture." But that nomenclature is so far removed from what she creates, that it just isn't adequate. Her pieces exude personality. She invariably has people gathered around her, asking why - or how - she chose a particular animal, or the story behind its creation. After being stopped dead in my tracks to appreciate 'Swan Lake,' It Isn't - the Dance of the Blue-footed Booby," I learned that by educational degree, she is an "Ethologist" - one who studies animal behavior. And that clarified what transforms it into "art." Diane Mason doesn't merely master anatomical proficiency, but instills in her works the natural behaviors and personality of each animal, making each one interesting and unique. Her love for each animal is clear, and she makes the viewer more interested and appreciative of her subjects.
She began her artistic career in 1980, experimenting with the medium of scratchboard. She entered her first show in 1982 - and sold out! With that show judged by the curator of art at the Wichita Art Museum, she was selected for a one-woman show at the Museum's sales gallery a year later. Awards followed from the National Wildlife Art Show, and she was commissioned to create the First of State art print (of Sandhill Cranes) for the Kansas Audubon Society in 1985.
In 1992 she ventured into a new realm: sculpting. Taking workshops with nationally recognized sculptors such as Gerald Balciar and David Turner, she diverted her artistic efforts to sculpture, and moved to the foothills of Loveland, Colorado to immerse herself in that "sculptor's paradise." She loves the fact that her collectors are drawn to the "attitudes" of her subjects - and enjoy the fun imbued in them. A recent collector battling breast cancer and chemotherapy told Diane she HAD to have the "Blue-footed Booby" in her house, because it made her feel almost like dancing herself each time she looked at it. That's the power of art.
Born and raised near Clarendon, Texas, Don Ray grew up in a hard-working ranch family for whom the last possible career choice expected would be fine art. A wonderful neighbor named H.D. Bugbee, who had illustrated several books, encouraged his early artistic attempts. Between chores, he happened to meet the owner of a small printing press whose supply of good books helped develop Don's interest in Western and Southern history and culture. Art became a necessity that parental disfavor couldn't dispel.
Earning a bachelor's degree in art and a master's degree from West Texas State University, Don embarked on the "safe" route in art, illustrating for Qu arter Horse Journal and teaching for a time at West Texas State. At age 35, after a stint in the service and a progression of artistic jobs that still didn't feel like "art," he came to realize that if he didn't soon take the leap of faith into full-time art, he never would.
And so began his dedication to art, exemplifying his love of the culture of the West and South, and the beauty of the Western landscapes that he grew up experiencing. His upbringing continues to influence his subject matter, whether historical paintings or bronze sculpture.
His sculpture shown at Sculpture in the South includes "Stonewall Jackson - Soul of the South" and "Cow Camp Chorale." The extensive list of locations housing or showing his works includes the Hudson Valley Art Association in New York, The XIT Museum, Mountain Oyster Club, American Quarter Horse Heritage Center, Phippen Memorial Museum in Arizona and the Haley Library and History Center in Midland, Texas.
He was selected to create a life-size bust of Deaf Smith (Sam Houston's guide) for the hundred-year dedication of the Deaf Smith Museum, and is working on a one-and-one-half size figure of a harvester as the symbol of Pampa High School in Texas. A retrospective of his historical paintings and sculpture is on display in the Hutchinson County Museum through May, 2000.
A former running back with the New York Jets and Washington Redskins, George Nock always felt he was destined to become an artist. Inspired by his junior high school teachers (one a sculptor, the other a painter) Nock sketched, sculpted and painted throughout high school - amid stellar performances on the basketball court and football field. He attended Morgan State University on a sports scholarship where he majored in psychology. By 1969, he was drafted by the New York Jets. But his love of sculpture was always with him. The team would be going over game strategy, and Nock would be working on preliminary drawings for sculptures.
After five years in the NFL, Nock retired and turned to his love of sculpture. Through hands-on practice, Nock has devoted his life to the creation of realistic figures in bronze. Self-taught, Nock has distinguished himself among the greatest sculptors of the twentieth and twenty-first century.
"I feel a responsibility to breathe life into untold stories, usually women, the culture bearers of any society." His bronzes seem to embody a definite feeling of respect and passion regardless of subject matter. Much of Nock's work is derived from indelible experiences stored in the crevices of his mind. Whether sculpting a figure from world history, a forgotten people, or a famed athlete, Nock possesses the uncanny ability to capture the essence of his subject with a characteristic pose or expression. Perhaps it's his early coursework in psychology that comes into play, leaving us with the impression that his bronze works are more than mere representations - but intimate glimpses into the very core of who his figures are.
Olsen was born and educated in Denmark. He immigrated to Canada in 1956 then to the United States in 1962 where he gained citizenship. He has been a resident of Jupiter, Florida since 1984.
Olsen started his career as woodcarver which expanded into church carving. He transitioned to stone in the late 70s. He became familiar with marble by first hand observation in Pietrasanta, Italy home of the famous Cararra marble. These numerous trips to Italy resulted in importation of tons of Italian and other European marble for carving at his Jupiter studio. He also works in domestic marble and Indiana limestone.
He works with the natural texture and color of the stone to create representative sculpture of animals and human forms and to develop abstract shapes. The sculptures range from tabletop to monumental in size for indoor and outdoor display.
He has done private and corporate commissions. Olsen has shown his work all over the United States at major art shows and has had work shown in galleries in New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Illinois and Florida. He has work in art collections in England, Switzerland, France, Germany, Japan and his native Denmark. He has participated in Public Exhibitions in "Art "Round Town" in Saugatuck, MI and "Art in Place" in Charlottesville, VA.
Oleson's sculptures are created in Florida. His artwork is on display in numerous cities, and in private collections throughout the country. He is a primarily self-taught artist, and has manifested a style and technique that is unique. His direct steel approach to sculpture has gained him entry to invitational shows and museums. His list of awards and accomplishments continue to grow year after year. He is well on his way to becoming one of the world's leading sculptors.
Paulsen is a self-taught artist. Alternately studying the wilds of the northern forest, and the open beauty of the American Southwest, he concentrates his work on natural subjects he has grown up with, and is heavily influenced by his family's artistic background, being raised by an artist-illustrator and an author. In his work, he explores merging the beauty he sees in the natural world with the expressiveness of clay and bronze.
While having most of his work in galleries or private collections across the country, he has recently completed two public commissions, Taking Flight, in Atlanta, Georgia, and The Defenders of Freedom Memorial in Bemidji, Minnesota.
Jane Rankin (photo of artist not available) A native of Oklahoma, where her ancestors settled before statehood, Jane Rankin has had the good fortune to travel across the country and across the Atlantic, providing her the opportunity to view the classical sculpture of ancient Greece. Although she had dabbled in art most of her life and appreciated the three-dimensional form, her personal encounters with these ancient depictions stirred an increased interest in this art form, and solidified her resolve to make the creation of sculpture her raison d'être. She and her family now make Monument, Colorado their home, giving her an excellent location to study with excellent sculptors at the Fechin Institute in Taos, New Mexico, the Scottsdale Artist School in Arizona, and the Loveland Academy of Fine Art in Loveland, Colorado. She creates sculpture with which people can identify, that also can be a catalyst for reflection and the awakening of fond memories. "I believe that we need beauty in our lives for emotional and social well-being," Rankin states. "My goal is to create work with sensitivity and skill, which has beauty of workmanship, clarity of expression, and integrity of design." There are many who emphatically believe she has done just that, as her awards, public sculpture and commissions will attest. Her works have been exhibited at Montana's C. M. Russell Museum, the Colorado History Museum, and for ten years, at the Loveland Sculpture Invitational. She's received sculpture awards in New York, Arizona and Colorado, and "Join the Parade," her sculpture of six children creating their own wonderful parade, has been selected for public installation in California, Nebraska, Colorado and North Carolina. (Sculpture title: Girl Flute)
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This project is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Working with single large pieces of wood, sculptor John Sewell carves free-form sculptural vessels with designs focused on various expressions of the feminine form. He carves the outside of a piece and then the inside, leaving a wall of uniform thickness. The interior is then burned, and the resulting charcoal sandblasted away. The exterior is finely sanded and then finished with multiple coats of lacquer, each wet sanded to a fine, smooth surface.
John's work resides in the public art collections of: Loveland, CO in both Benson Park Sculpture Garden ("Blossom") and the McWhinney Haun Sculpture Park ("Two Leaves"); Fountain Hills, AZ ("Blossom") at the east entrance to the Community Center; Memphis Botanical Gardens, Memphis, TN ("Three Graces" fountain); St. Louis University, St Louis, MO ("Cat" and "Two Leaves" Fountains); and Weston Botanical Gardens in Ft. Worth, TX ("Sassy").
Sculptor John Tolmay was born in Southern Rhodesia during World War II. While his dad was busy carving a cattle ranch out of virgin bush, he employed a raw, bush-wise African to look after and tutor John. There couldn't have been a better teacher for a small boy growing up in that enormous wilderness.
His formal schooling in Africa afforded young John the chance to enjoy the bush as much as the classroom, and it was there that John started to draw his observations in nature. His interest in the American West showed in his early sketch-books. His Cambridge Examination piece in 1959 was his first sculpture, and it was a bust of an American Indian for which he received Honours.
After agricultural college in South Africa, John traveled to Europe and then on to America, where he worked in Nebraska and New Mexico as a cowboy. In 1966, John returned to Rhodesia, married Dinah, and went ranching. It was then that he taught himself to paint in oils and very occasionally made three-dimensional pieces out of wood or modeling clay.
In 1974 he started guiding Safaris for tourist hunters, and in 1980 sold the ranch, becoming a full-time guide. Those years hunting and guiding were John's anatomy classes for his future career as a sculptor. He completed and sold his first piece of bronze in 1989. Today, John and Dinah make their home in central Montana, and his work as a guide continues once or twice a year, but sculpting is his full time occupation.
Josephine Pratt was born and raised on a farm in eastern North Carolina. Jo grew up with her love for art and dance. She pursued her love of dance by studying at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, earning a degree in Performing Dance.
As only someone who has been trained as a dancer can sometimes do, she is able to translate the essence of a dancer's movement and expression into sculpture that has breathtaking beauty. In her words, "My Challenge is to use the elements of composition, design, rhythm, movement and beauty to communicate emotion through my sculpture. I feel so blessed to have found that I am able to use my hands as tools to script what comes from my heart and soul. My sculpture reflects who I am."
Jo maintains studios in Florida and North Carolina. Her sculpture can be found in galleries, private collections and churches around the country.
Job Titles:
- Artist in Savannah
- Vice President for Community Development With the YMCA
Born in Louisiana, Judy Mooney's life and work is a rich gumbo of experiences spiced with her admiration of all people and the love of sculpting.
At the end of her career as vice president for community development with the YMCA, Judy returned to the university to study art, began sculpting and found a latent artist within herself. She also found people with stories to tell within the clay in her hands.
Today, Judy is a studio artist in Savannah, GA. She works in ceramics and bronze. Her work can be seen in shows throughout the low country, at her website, and at Lowcountry Artists in Charleston, SC, Four Corners Gallery in Bluffton, SC, and at I Pinckney Simons Gallery in Beaufort, SC.
Judy's work is realistic figurative sculpture inspired by the people she portrays and their stories. Before touching the clay Judy researches the lives of the person she's sculpting to ensure that it conveys an authentic message. As the figure emerges from the clay she focuses on expression and movement to capture their full essence. During the process the figure and Judy, the sculptor, begin a dialogue that defines the narrative until they agree that the piece has a voice of it's own. Judy's hope is that each sculpture gives new insight or joy at remembering an old familiar story or learning a new one.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Born in Columbus, GA in 1957, Julie was immersed in art from an early age. Her mother painted, and she and Julie visited museums together. At age 11, Julie took her first art class. When she began at Mercer University, she planned to be a special education major, but an introductory sculpture class with Marshall Daugherty changed her life. He ignited the spark within her and she received a BA in Art in 1979. In 1982, she continued in graduate study with Daugherty before leaving for Amsterdam for one year of self directed study in 1983-1984.
Julie's figurative work focuses on gender in authentic form, and she considers it vital to instill emotion into each sculpture. "Telling a story through the work is paramount to me. The pieces are carefully balanced portrayals of the human figure charged with emotion." Her sculpture fuses tradition with social, cultural and gender issues through thoughtful, deliberate detail.
Julie's work has been shown in exhibitions at the Kougeas Gallery in Boston; Fernbank Museum and Richards & Westbrook Galleries at Georgia Tech, and the Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center for the Arts in Duluth, GA. At the National Arts Club and Carnegie Hall, she received the "Best of Show" award at the International Exhibition at Carnegie Hall in 1977. Julie's sculpture in the public realm includes, among many, Emory Green, Bibb County Court House; Charles Douglass, Douglass Theatre, Macon GA; and the 7' tall standing portrait of Peyton Anderson, Community Services Center, Macon, GA.
An elected member of both the National Association of Woman Artists and the New England Sculptors Association, Julie is also a Colleague member of the National Sculpture Society. Julie is a member of the International Sculpture Center, Washington, DC, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC and the GA Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Atlanta. From 1989 to 1993, she served on the Board of Directors of the Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center for the Arts, Duluth, GA.
Her sculptures can be found in private and corporate collections both in the U.S. and abroad.
(Sculpture title: I am Beautiful)
The overwhelming beauty of wildlife and the ever-changing environment surrounding it have always brought Karla Runquist a sense of spirituality. "There's magic in Nature, and it's that magic that excites me and ignites my creativity," she relates. Her farming background, with its immersion in Nature, actually laid the foundation from which she drew her inspiration for her artistic endeavors. Always fascinated with art as a child, she set aside that pursuit for the full-time demands of marriage and family.
But passion for the creation of art can be denied for only so long, and as her children grew, Karla directed her energies toward painting again, with their encouragement. A happy discovery was made that she also had an aptitude for teaching painting, and the income allowed her to take a sculpture workshop that literally changed her life.
Karla's studio is located in Macomb, Illinois, where she also attended art related classes at Western Illinois University. She received an Illinois Arts Council Grant to attend the International Sculpture Conference in Chicago in 1998, the Award of Excellence at "The Salute to the Masters," and has work in collections around the world, including Holland and Japan. Karla notes, "I choose to portray the positive, the beautiful, the caring - and most of all, the love and joy of life."
Working in the unforgiving medium of wood, wildlife sculptor Ken Newman creates sculpture that is one-of-a-kind, with no "editions" and no duplications, making each piece as unique as the animal that inspired its creation. In this raw medium, Newman sees warm grains and beautiful, flowing lines that characterize wildlife forms and movement … allowing nature to represent nature through the artist's hand.
An admitted "wood scrounge" when young, Newman grew up along Northern California's redwood coast, collecting unusual specimens of downed wood from beaches, riverbeds and hillsides. He now uses a variety of woods, from wind-blown cedars with cracks and imperfections to vertical-grain redwoods and water-worn driftwood.
"Working in wood is a constant challenge," notes Newman, who confesses that the process is, at times, exasperating. "From start to finish, each piece tests the artist's ability to work within and against the grain, knots, and wood's imperfect nature." But in each piece he sees a haunting beauty that he's compelled to bring out. As each piece is carved and exposed, Ken releases a view of the tree's life cycles, with its own unique characteristics, which many never have the opportunity to see.
His works have been described as "expressionistic figurative sculpture", and when you encounter Ken Smith's art it will not surprise you to learn that he has studied anatomy at George Washington Medical School and has had professional experience as a medical illustrator. But his is not merely technical expertise.
"Expressionistic" is the operative adjective relating to his art. He takes his talent for accurate anatomy and elevates it with a remarkable creativity. It is beautiful, or stunning, or horrific - but never ordinary. He is one of a select few whose work has been approved for acquisition by Brookgreen Gardens. His massive stone sculpture, Freedom's A-Comin' will be placed at Brookgreen in the year 2000.
Winning numerous awards for sculpture in the Grand Strand area, he has also been chosen for participation in National Sculpture Society Exhibitions in New York, the Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition at Chesterwood in Massachusetts, and Sculpture in the Park, in Loveland. Colorado.
Shaklee is a native of Denver, Colorado. She spent summers and holidays of her youth at her family's summer home in Estes Park, Colorado. The rugged beauty and grandeur of Rocky Mountain National Park served as her backyard. It was there; she developed a deep appreciation for the natural world and an intense love for wildlife. Shaklee was able to study an abundance of wildlife first hand, giving her a strong foundation for her future as a Sculptor.
Combining her life experiences, knowledge, strong artistic abilities and love for creatures of land and sea, she has become a skilled wildlife and marine artist.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Marie-Christine Maitre de Tarragon was born in Burgundy, France. She grew up in the family chateau, surrounded by art and horses. Her great-grandfather, the Marquis de Valdahon, was a renowned eighteenth century painter. Her grandmother, the Countess Marie de Tarragon studied art under the master Redoute. Her uncle, Count Richard de Tarragon, was a sculptor in the Bugatti tradition. His mentor was the sculptor PomPon, whose work is in the Museum of Dijon.
When Marie-Christine moved to America, she trained and rode steeplechasers and raced quarter horses. She now trains reining horses in addition to creating beautiful equine sculptures and paintings.
Her life with her horses and her art is intertwined.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Tanner is from wide open western Nebraska. She grew up surrounded by horses and wildlife. She worked as a scientific illustrator for both the Nebraska State Museum and the Univerity of Kansas Natural History Museum. In 1999, she was given the job of repairing and restoring a badly vandalized limestone sculpture, a 9-foot tall local monument. She cleaned off the blue spray paint, found matching stone to repair many broken parts, and carved a replacement arm and face. The sculpture now stands proudly on the county courthouse lawn. Through this experience of repairing limestone, she discovered her love of stone carving.
She says, "For me, stone is the most rewarding and satisfying material to make shapes with, although I work with wood also. I love the carving process, actually doing the work. Part of the joy of working with stone is the interaction with it, paying attention to what it has to say. Carving is a little like solving a puzzle of sorts, searching out a form and idea that will fit into the rough, given original piece. I find great joy in following the forms as I am carving with the hammer and chisels and creating beautiful shapes. And every enjoys the natural beauty of finished and polished stone. Stone has such strong integrity and honesty as a material."
With a background in illustration, Tanner's form are anatomically structured, but she searches for forms within that anatomy that wil, first of all, make intersting sculpture, and will also bring out the beauty of the stone.
Maureen considers herself a portrait artist, human subjects or otherwise. She shamelessly admits to being an illustrator with her work narrative in nature. Her subjects all have a personality forged by events past, present and future.
Born in Michigan, Graduating from Eastern Michigan University with a BFA in Sculpture she studied under John Papas. She also studied artistic anatomy at the University of Michigan. She studied with Walter Midener, a family friend and it was in his studio as a child and later as an adult that he taught her an appreciation of sculpture as well as technique.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Having received a BA in Fine Art from Western Illinois University, Michele Moushey Dale also studied wood sculpture at Virginia Commonwealth University and moved to more figurative forms at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She combines her passion for figurative forms in bronze in combination with other art mediums creating a unique synthesis of formal and emotionally expressive artistic works.
Michele seeks to portray in a simple manner the continuum of life by focusing on a vital life source: the fe male body. When she begins a piece, it's with a vague idea, looking at line, form, flow, working from the strength of the middle of the body and letting the sculpture grow from there. She waits for the model to awaken an emotion which she seeks to express in her art.
In time the body relaxes, the energy flows, the exchanges begin. The artist and the model become friends. They laugh and live during their time together. They are never quiet, and the unending chat brings Michele's pieces to what they are.
When Michele walks through her studio, she reflects on the various people who have been her models and on how their lives have touched. Michele says, "Each one of my works represents a singular aspect of the female body, so beautiful and sacred, each one distinct and different, yet sharing the same form." Michele's achievements include numerous regional and national exhibitions, a participating artist in the 2006 Sculpture in the Park in Loveland, Colorado, a merit award winner from Lexington Art Center, and a visiting artist at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
You could call Nick a "natural-born" artist, brought up in a family with considerable interest in art, but an artist who didn't really receive any formal art training until middle age, years after he had completed a fine arts minor in college and taught art in the public school system. Over the years, his artistic interests have evolved from drawing, to watercolors, to culminate in his passion: sculpture.
Born in Chicago and raised in the lake country of northeastern Illinois, Nick clearly has been influenced by the wealth of outdoor experiences he encountered there and in Utah, his home since the mid 1960s. Wildlife themes have dominated his bronze works, but he also has a significant body of figurative pieces, mostly of children. With his own family of ten children to help raise, it does seems a wonder that he ever found the time or the solitude for artistic creativity. His subject matter remains diverse, and he enjoys the freedom to create whatever subject calls to him. A decided asset is the strength of his compositions. From that base, he can create works of intricate detail, or depart into subdued textures and striking abstractions of life forms, though sufficient detail and realism are usually incorporated to make the focal point of his pieces recognizable images.
The teacher in Nick is inseparable from the artist, and he's likely to be found unlocking the mysteries of three-dimensional art for newcomers to the realm. His proclivity for smaller, mantel and table-top sized bronzes has made it possible for new (or would-be) collectors to be able to purchase his works, allowing them to own an original piece of art for what they might invest for a good quality framed print. But his work has also been chosen for public art, as well. In 1998, his "Genesis of a Thunderbolt" was selected for the Purchase Award by the Loveland Sculpture Invitational Show, and is now part of Loveland, Colorado's permanent public art collection.
The first of three sons, Nnamdi was born in Eastern Nigeria in 1965. He was drawn to art as far back as he can remember, but didn't realize that his artistic sensibilities were best expressed in the three-dimensional form of sculpture until he was about 17. At around the same time he was introduced to basketball, which suited him well, since he is six feet nine inches tall. Pursuing his art education in Nigeria, he obtained a Higher National Diploma (equivalent to a Bachelor's Degree) in painting, and then discovered that it would be his talent as a basketball player that would provide the opportunity for him to come to America.
Recruited by Brigham Young University-Hawaii, he played there from 1989-1993 and graduated with a BFA in Sculpture. Immediately enrolling in the graduate program at BYU-Provo, he earned an MFA in Sculpture, and met and married his wife, Deidra.
Now working full-time out of his studio in Orem, Utah, he is drawn to the female form, and most of his work centers around womanhood. He explains, "I am captivated by the noble characteristics . . . empathy, love, resilience, inner strength . . . that are embodied in femininity. The women that are closest to me - my wife and my mother - have influenced me greatly and are exemplars of these noble attributes."
His forms are simplified and stylized, embodying fluid lines and simple shapes, and he intends his works to be more symbolic than literal copies of the human form. Believing in the oneness of humanity, he hopes that his works will be capable of eliciting strong emotional responses from the viewer, regardless of his or her background or race. "I'll be gratified if there is meaning in my work for all."
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
"As a sculptor, I am inspired by pure shape and form. With abstract sculpture, meaning becomes personal and individual, and I love providing that freedom for individual interpretation. For me, sculpture is both visual and tactile. I love it when people want to touch my work and I love using bright, non-traditional patinas, which makes my pieces unique. I also love adding a spiritual twist, which ads great meaning for me and I hope will speak to others, as well. The sculpting process has boundless possibilities for expression and creation and I have just begun the journey."
Paul Rhymer comes from a family of artists and has drawn and painted his whole life. After receiving an Associate of Arts degree from a local community college, he sought work as an illustrator, and was hired to design and illustrate brochures at the Smithsonian Institution. Eighteen years ago, Paul was offered the opportunity to become a model-maker/taxidermist at the Smithsonian, following the career path of his father, who was also a museum taxidermist.
Model-making required that Paul make a keen observation of wildlife because the exhibits that he was creating often dealt with natural history subjects. By working extensively with three-dimensional projects, Paul's painting and drawing skills gradually began to transform into sculpture. Museum taxidermy and models must be very tight and detailed, but creating sculpture gives Paul an opportunity to try different interpretations with his subjects. He says, "Some artists [are able to] capture motion or a feeling with a simple brush stroke or a simple wad of clay." That is the perspective Paul explores in his sculpture, keeping his concentration on wildlife as his favorite subject matter.
A returning artist at the Easton, Maryland Waterfowl Festival and the Loveland, Colorado Sculpture Invitational, Paul recently completed a commissioned series of small wildlife bronzes that were installed on pathways throughout the Denver Zoo. The collection included the unique portrayal of a monitor lizard, rock hyraxes, a chameleon, an agama, and the amphibian "Dixie Pixie." Paul's "Rest Stop," to be installed in Shepard Park later in 2007, will be the 19th sculpture acquisition for Summerville's permanent collection.
Job Titles:
- Member and past President of the Texas Cowboy Artists Association
Most of Richard Thompson's work involves the depiction of wildlife and the contemporary cowboy. He sculpts from life, feeling that observation of live models results in a more exciting interpretation of the finished product. His sculpture blends accuracy with sensitivity (and frequently with humor) so that each piece does more than simply represent exact anatomy.
Richard has exhibited nationally in juried shows such as the North American Sculpture Exhibition in Golden Colorado, and the National Sculpture Society Show in New York City. His works have also been included in the prestigious Mountain Oyster Club in Tucson and the Amarillo Art Center in Amarillo, Texas, and are usually seen in the "Sculpture in the Park" show in Loveland, Colorado.
Thompson is a member and past president of the Texas Cowboy Artists Association, and has been awarded several Gold and Silver medals for sculpture and Gold medals for painting in that organization's annual exhibitions. In the 1989 Texas Cowboy Artists' exhibit, Thompson won Best of Show, the Gold medal for oil painting, and was selected Texas Cowboy Artist-of-the-Year by his peers. One recent work was a commissioned life-size sculpture, Pioneer Woman, for a Texas college.
Robert Rohrbacker has spent a lifetime around animals, extensively studying and observing them in motion. As a sculptor he is mostly self-taught with an innate knowledge of proportion, musculature and bone structure. He has attended workshops with acclaimed wildlife sculptor David Turner in order to advance his natural skills. He states, "My goal is to create a sense of the grace, power and size of large creatures. I do not want to create highly stylized animals in magnificent poses, but rather capture ordinary animals doing ordinary things. My work is representational but with detail suggested by angles and curves and the interplay of light and shadow on patina and texture. I strive to create a strong sense of impending movement in my sculptures so that, in much the same way as listeners anticipate the resolution of a chord progression in music, viewers of my work complete the step, turn, twitch or flap of an ear in their minds."
In limited participation in juried shows, Robert's sculptures have won multiple awards, including Best of Show and People's Choice. His subjects are usually large endangered animals, such as elephants and rhinos, but he is currently working on a complex project involving three horses.
Robert is a man of strong faith, a musician, sculptor, horseman, counselor and teacher. He and his wife live on a small acreage near Johnstown, Colorado with Betsy the dachshund, two horses, koi ponds, flower gardens and "way too many chickens."
Martin has been creating wildlife sculpture in various mediums for over 25 years. Starting his career as an assistant curator of exhibits at the Schiele Museum of Natural History. Roger has traveled the world, studying animals in the wild, from the goats and sheep of Alaska to the birds and mammals of Africa, Asia and the South Pacific.
Having an in-depth knowledge of anatomy gives Martin the ability to instill power and agility into a subject as well as a glimpse into their spirit. Martin is a lifetime resident of North Carolina.
Raised on a small farm in southern Michigan, he always loved the outdoors. Smith dreamed of being a wildlife artist as long as he could remember. The spark started as a youngster and flickered during his high school years. For a few years he found taxidermy and taxidermy manikin sculpting satisfied his appetite for art. He then took a 14 year sabbatical from art of any kind while raising a family, building a business and serving his church and community. Then in 2000 at the urging of his wife, Vicki, he picked up the clay again with an eye toward bronze sculpture.
"I love the look and feel of sculpted clay and the permanence of bronze. I find real beauty in the organic shapes and curves of a Bison's back or a fawn's ear. Then I strive to share what I learn from His creation with those who view my art."
Since his debut exhibition in 2005 he has shown his work in numerous juried fine art shows in MI, NY, OH, LA, KY and SC. He was the featured artist for the autumn 2006 issue of Whisper in the Woods Nature Journal. His work has been chosen for the Ella Sharp Museum Fine Arts Competition, the International Exhibition on Animals in Art, the Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit and the Society of Animal Artist's "Small Works - Big Impressions" show. His Watchful Doe, life size is installed at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY and the Charlevoix Public Library in Charlevoix, MI. In 2008 he was accepted as an Associate Member of Society of Animal Artist. He is represented by fine art galleries in MI and CO.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the Board of Directors
Ronny says, "All of my ventures through the arts led me to the most difficult and intriguing destination, sculpture. I create my sculpture in oil-based clay and cast in bronze. This method lends itself well to the kind of sculptures I create: musicians and embracing couple, dogs and groupings of people.
" Now I sculpt what intrigues me. People, animals, and I like to sculpt what catches my imaginary eye. I try to capture emotion and thought. My musicians are created because of my love of music. I feel that music and hope to transfer it into cold bronze, making the bronze come alive. I know that I have reached my goal when people look at my musicians and comment that they can hear the music, or when they look at my romantic pieces and say that they can feel the love. I hope to give a feeling, a memory, a precious moment back to the viewer."
Ronny received her formal education at the University of Houston and the University of St. Thomas, and has studied privately under known sculptors. She is represented in galleries in California, Colorado, and Arizona. Ronny is a Colleague Member of the National Sculpture Society, an Associate Member of the National Association of Women Artists and the Allied Artists of America, and a member of the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Association.
The son of a civil engineer and a mathematician with a love of nature and wildlife, Miree spent much of my time walking construction sites or the local zoo. At fifteen he began an apprenticeship to kinetic sculptor Edward Hendricks and found an entirely different side of art not bounded by the margins of a static canvas, but an art that utilizes every piece of itself to be realized.
"Over the past 20 years I have worked with movement and form. There is a certain fascination wit being able to create a form with basic fluid elements that may come fully to life with the intuition and imagination of the observer."
Designs for each kinetic sculpture start as basic line drawings exploring how to translate a historical event, a landmark in technology development or an inspiring event into a sculptural form. The challenge is to create physical forms that reflect balanced relationships for a non tangible event. He has to pay attention to the visual flow of elements and how each one represents an element of the event so the final form can tell a complete story.
As a design develops, the relationship between concept and materials becomes more important with each piece. The intent is to create a fluid, figurative image using the minimal amount of material. While the materials are of themselves hard, the aim is to soften them and have them almost dance as they move and reflect. To this end, the smoothness and speed of the counter balance point plays a critical role in the visual affect the work will have in motion.
Scott's inspiration to sculpt began in high school, when he became intrigued with the sculpture of wildlife artist Jim Gilmore. Drawn to the works in Gilmore's sporting goods store, he examined the sculptures more closely on every visit, wondering if it were possible for him to create that type of art. When his family vacationed in Santa Fe soon after, he found himself surrounded by the creations of artists from all over the world. The spark was ignited for his future career before he even finished high school.
Interested in nature and its complexities from an early age, Scott had developed love and respect for the natural world as he was growing up in Littleton and Alamosa, Colorado. Earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, he thought he would work in a fish hatchery or for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. But a visit to a foundry for a bid to cast his first bronze sculpture, instead led to a job offer, which he quickly accepted. Much like the sculpture apprentices of long ago, he spent the next two year learning every intricate detail of the lost-wax casting and finishing process, and was able to use the facility and tools after hours to cast more of his own works in bronze.
Artistic talent was recognized very early in Shirley Moss' life. Her parents cultivated that talent while she was still in elementary school by enrolling her in a pilot program at the Cleveland Institute of Art that permitted children to participate in college level classes.
Four years in that program gave her a solid foundation to excel in academics as well as a broad spectrum of art disciplines. She continued her art studies at Fenn College in Cleveland, Ohio and At Ohio University while earning her Bachelor of Science in Education. Moss taught briefly in Ohio and then relocated to California, where her strong interest in mathematics led her to the aerospace industry.
After five years, she returned to education to teach mathematics and ultimately, aeronautical engineering to high school students. She attended Sacramento State University in Sacramento, California on a National Foundation scholarship in mathematics and went on to earn a Master's in Education from United States International University in San Diego, California. When Shirley resumed her art studies, her early art training and her natural talent were quickly apparent in the detail and sensitivity of the work she produced. Her wide range of interests led her work in several mediums and styles from bronze portrait and figurative studies to investigating sculpture methods and styles of Egyptian, Pre-Columbian American art and Southwestern American Indian clay pottery.
Moss's bronzes currently grace the homes of patrons across the United States and Canada. Her life size commissions are installed in the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Illinois; Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio; North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and Central Park in Naperville, Illinois; The Market at Oakland in Mt. Pleasant in South Carolina; and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.
California native Stefan Savides came into this world with a total fascination of birds. At age twelve he began what would become a lifelong career in taxidermy. By the age of sixteen he was instructing adults in taxidermy through the City of Vacaville recreation department's night school curriculum. After graduating from Vaca High school he moved to the Klamath Basin, an inspiring area of northern California where birds abound.
Stefan is an artist who has never worked a day in his life in mainstream America. His self- employed career, while mainly centered on taxidermy, has included painting, carving and sculpting birds.
Savides' forty-six year career in taxidermy has carried him to the top of his profession internationally. He has spent many years traveling the United States, Canada and even Europe judging taxidermy and carving shows and conducting seminars and workshops. His clients include Dick Cabela, founder of the popular outdoor sporting company, and works as Mr. Cabela's personal field taxidermist, traveling with him and his wife on their hunting safaris around the world. Savides' works can be found in collections and museums around the country, including the Shedd aquarium in Chicago, Cabela stores, and the Smithsonian.
Sculpting in bronze is a natural progression for Savides as it provides a lasting expression of his knowledge of avian anatomy and design. Years of intense study coupled with a flair for simplistic design equates to renderings that capture the essence of his subjects in tasteful clean works of art.
Growing up as a "military brat," Stephen Spears was fortunate to live in many exotic locations, and his work evidences his experiences in the Orient, among other locales. Creating artwork has always been an important part of his life. He has studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and has participated in workshops with some of today's finest sculptors. A champion of endangered species, Stephen enjoys promoting awareness about animals and their habitats, and his life-long love for animals shines through in his wildlife sculpture.
Spears' medium of choice is bronze, and he speaks of the challenge "of bringing the illusion of movement, a variety of textures, and a feeling of warmth to an essentially cold, still piece of metal. It's exciting to bring the metal to life, to create a story with my bare hands." His first foray into sculpting children was inspired by Stephen's daughter, and has resulted in a number of commissions for life-size sculpture. The bronze "Joyous Infant" celebrates the excitement a baby exhibits as it masters each new experience, and the life-size bronze "Charlie" (an engaging little boy in summer overalls) is able to hold either a butterfly net or a flag.
Family is a major focus in Stephen's life. He and his wife are raising three daughters and a son on their alpaca farm in Fairhope, AL. Stephen is active in promoting the arts in his community. He has offered classes and sponsored art workshops with nationally known artists in order to enhance arts education in his region. Stephen has been active in establishing Fairhope's own public art program.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
"Forms found in nature, the splendors of the human figure, and reaching deep into my Cherokee roots serve as the inspiration for the sculptures in [the 2011] show. In my sculpture, I tend to take a ‘less is more' approach. I believe that by paring a thing down to its essence, the spirituality behind it more easily revealed to the viewer. The simplicity of these forms, even those inspired by ancient American artifacts, evokes a sense of elegance with a decidedly contemporary feel."
"The more I sculpt, the more I find I am learning acceptance. I learn acceptance of many things including the letting go and enjoying the act of sculpting itself, while experiencing a sense of flow with the desires of the medium in which I am working."
This South Carolina native is a "quiet" artist. The vast majority of Summerville residents would not know the name of the person in their midst who won the "Best in World, Interpretive Wood Sculpture" in the 1990 Ward Foundation Carving Competition. Or that his winning entry was purchased for the Ward Foundation Museum's permanent collection. They're more likely to know that he volunteers as a cabinetmaker for Habitat for Humanity. This is not a "strut-your-stuff" artist, but one who is quietly devoted to his family, his church, and his community. His talent, however, has been hard to hide.
He has had a lifelong interest in wildlife - birds especially. As he was growing up, that interest was often expressed through art. With his fascination with the natural world, it was no surprise that he obtained a degree in Biology from the University of South Carolina. His decision to work in Alaska after college, coupled with exposure to artisans in the woodworking field, ignited an underlying talent that few possess, and provided him with a creative expression for his unique abilities.
He didn't begin carving birds until 1980, and within a few years became recognized nationally for his artistic creations. In 1986, his "Nonpareil-Painted Bunting" was chosen by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum for their touring exhibition, featured in museums in Seattle, Santa Barbara, Honolulu, and Beijing, China. The following year the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum purchased his "Pelican Plunge" for their permanent collection. In 1990, The Gibbes Museum of Art presented his works in a solo exhibition: "Winged Sculpture - The Artist and His Style". His style now ranges from very realistic decorative, to a less detailed, interpretive form. Marshall's desire as an artist is to create compelling works with the marvelous elements of form, design, and color that God offers us in His grand creation.
An accomplished and internationally recognized artist in a variety of mediums, Sandy is now most often renowned for his expertise in figurative and wildlife sculpture. Long known for his painting and stone carving which have been featured at museums such as the Smithsonian, the British Museum of Natural History and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, he now concentrates his artistic talents mainly in bronze.
That concentration of talent has garnered him awards and commissions across the nation, and he has installed works in locations as diverse as the National Jewish Center Hospital in Colorado and the Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, Florida. His sculpture has been selected for the permanent collection of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum in Wisconsin and has been presented to the President of the United States by the Governor of Florida. Selected as the Featured Sculptor at Charleston's Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, he also earned that honor at the Easton Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland.
Arguably his most memorable creation is his "Follow the Leader," which was in Azalea Park during Sculpture in the South 2000. This life-size, 3,000-pound bronze shows children treading down a fallen log - some carefully balancing and others "following the leader" with abandon. It's a piece impossible to ignore, and stirs memories of yesterday (or fifty years ago) in everyone who encounters it.
All of Sandy Proctor's works are not monuments, however. His black labs and great blue herons, little cowpokes and exquisite ballet dancers appeal to a wide audience who will relish the diversity of his subject matter.
Even though bronze is his current medium of choice, Wayne Salge's life has always been dominated by a wide range of art. Painting, sculpture, illustration and graphic design have influenced his signature style which is distinguished by sharp angles, long thin lines and smooth planes. Wayne says that although his style is recognizable, it is not easy to label or describe. "If it were a painting, I would use the term impressionism. It falls somewhere between realism and abstraction," he explains. Children catch the essence of the subjects very quickly, while adults sometimes take longer. One man said "I like this work because it leaves something to my imagination."
Born and raised in San Antonio, Wayne trained formally at San Antonio College and La Villita School of Art in his hometown. His career has ranged from a television art director to an Army illustrator to an advertising agency art director and to a free-lance graphic designer and illustrator. Wayne has been sculpting and casting his stylized works in bronze for the last ten years. His body of work numbers over eighty pieces primarily in small limited editions that range in size from five inched to nine feet in height.
Numerous articles in Southwest Art, InformArt and Wildlife Art have profiled Wayne and featured his artwork. His outdoor installations include "Antonio," Steamboat Springs, Colorado; "Spirit of Reconciliation" the Conflict Center, Denver; and "Cimarron," Loveland, Colorado. Wayne is represented in galleries across the United States, from California to North Carolina.
"Antonio" by Wayne Salge was selected for purchase as the 18th sculpture in Summerville's permanent collection. This 8-1/2' bronze communicates strength and optimism, and it is relevant to every age, any gender, all ethnic groups and languages. Installation was at Gahagan Ball Fields in the Fall 2007.
Wendy's artistic education began early at the Los Angeles Museum of Art enrichment program where she first discovered her passion for form. Her talent and determination earned her a scholarship to Art Center College of Design from the Ford Motor Company where she studied industrial design. During her career, she has worked in the field of Corporate Aircraft, Automotive Design and Conceptual Product Design. Wendy traveled extensively during her design career, spending time in Japan and Europe, but it was during a trip to Rome where she was profoundly affected by the sculptural masterwork. It was then that she felt driven to sculpt and after fifteen years as a designer and fabricator, turned her sights to sculpting. She hasn't looked by since.
Wendy Salin's love of form can be seen in her figurative sculpture. Her work entices the viewer to experience the energy that each piece carries. Her work is quietly personal yet at the same time universal in theme. Her intention is to give form to the emotions that reside within us all and explains, "My work is the culmination of my experiences. My family has been a perpetual source of inspiration to me."
Wendy is represented by Visions Fine Art in Sedona, AZ; Act I Gallery in Taos, NM; and Gallery 1000 in Palm Desert, CA. She maintains membership in the National Sculpture Society, the California Art Club and American Women Artists.
Born and raised in rural Illinois, Bill Piller spent his summers playing at his grandparents' farm with his cousins, fishing with his family, and taking art lessons. Like most kids, he loved to paint, but didn't discover his talent for sculpting until he was an adult. A passion for nature has helped Bill Piller to sculpt exquisite bronze treasures. Each sculpture is painstakingly researched and executed to bring out the best attributes of the subject. Only after Bill is satisfied of perfection does the clay sculpture get sent to the foundry. Using the lost wax method of casting, Bill's sculpture is forever portrayed in all its glory in bronze.