My figurative work seeks to represent historical women whose appearance was never recorded. I often represent them using objects they created: clothing, ceramics, gardens. Other themes include the ways in which destruction of the natural world is fostered by cultural norms denigrating the feminine. I do my own casting, and much of my sculpture is about this process as much as the creation of a realistic figure: armatures, mold seams, and pieces of the mold itself are revealed and become abstract elements in the finished piece. Figures give the impression that they in the process of being made, or else on the verge of falling apart; a continuum in the never-ending cycle of creation, alteration, and decay.
I studied art at Smith College and earned a graduate degree in sculpture and environmental art from New York University while working there as a graphic designer. Some awards include the Roman Bronze Award from the Pen & Brush Club, the country’s oldest women’s art organization, and an Artist Fellowship in sculpture from the Boston Cultural Council. I have been artist-in-residence at the Frederic Remington Museum, where I made work about the sculptor Sally Farnham, whose work is in the museum’s collection. I was artist-in-residence at Fruitlands Museum in 2016.
Wonderful. I bought the 1980 bronze at the recent Skinner Auction. I will put it by the Leonda Finkes that I have.
Hi Carolyn,
Glad to have met you at the last GAG meeing. Nice work.
Thank you—likewise!
“The Connecticut River Artisan Group (CRAG) is pleased to announce a new region-wide sculpture contest with a $1,500 prize. Submittals must be at least three feet tall, be designed for outdoor display, and able to withstand winter and summer weather extremes. The winning sculpture will be displayed outdoors at the Great North Woods Center for the Arts in Columbia, NH.
A three person committee consisting of two CRAG members and another individual will serve as judges for the contest. Contestants must submit a conceptual drawing, including dimensions, and a description of their proposed sculpture before January 1, 2021. The winner will be notified before February 1st and the sculpture installed before July, 15, 2021.
Proposals should be emailed to Michele Johnsen at art@michelejohnsen.com. For more information, please call 901-230-3452. For information about CRAG, please visit their website at http://www.connecticutriverartisans.com or Facebook page.”