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Archive

August 14, 2024 In

Chris Wilson

Hometown: Marietta, GA

Chris was trained by several nationally known sculptors as a high school student before receiving his Bachelors Degree in Art from Kennesaw State University in 1994 and his Masters of Fine Arts Degree in sculpture from Georgia State University in 2001. Chris continued to enhance his craftsmanship, form, and concepts as a professor of art for over seven years. Today, Wilson Wildlife Sculpture is his exclusive focus. His training and attention to detail have culminated in over 100 best of show awards; among them include Best of Show in 3D and People’s Choice Award at the Nature Works Art Show in 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2024. In 2023, one of Wilson Wildlife Sculpture’s Instagram post reached over 56 million viewers.

Chris’ work is inspired by nature. The beauty of birds and their ability to fly captivates him. In 2001, Chris traced the journey of his ancestor, William Bartram, through parts of the Southeast. Bartram – America’s first naturalist artist – was the first to describe many birds, plants, and animals. Wildlife, such as a great blue heron, ancient stand of trees, and primeval wilderness overwhelmed Chris with a spiritual feeling; others can experience this emotion through Chris’ fervent sculptures. In a statement by Chris, he states, “I have been blessed with a talent that I love sharing with others, and I aspire to create one-of-a-kind sculptures that can be enjoyed for generations.”

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August 14, 2024 In

Jeffrey Willey

Hometown: East New Market, MD

Local artist Jeff Willey is from East New Market Maryland. He makes stainless steel art . He just started his art career a year ago in August. He has made about 50 sculptures and has sold them all. He has 30 years of fabrication and welding experience.

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August 14, 2024 In

Dave Dunn

Hometown: Silver Spring, MD

Dave Dunn’s art is defined by a unique ability to invest his metal constructions with both whimsy and primordial dark mystery. His works draw on imagery and meaning
from a metallurgical era lost to the modern age. His often frequent use of medieval imagery in his welded and forged work evokes in the viewer an historical allegory,
while imbuing his creatures of nature with abstract nuance and fantasy.

Combining rough steel imagery with historical symbols of contest and predators, his creatures take on mysterious and fantastical life forms. Drawing on a lifelong
environmental consciousness, he assembles repurposed objects, found metal pieces or modern steel implements with deft creativity, offering the viewer a more modern and
empathetic connection to the natural world through movement and personality.

From his earliest years growing up on Harris creek flowing into the Chesapeake Bay, he combined driftwood and other found objects deposited by high tides and repurposed
them into art objects while daydreaming about what lurked beneath the waves. He also spent formative years living in Paris, France, the son of an American diplomat,
surrounded by the medieval and renaissance imagery of the old world. Today he works out of his DunnInMetal Studios in Silver Spring, Maryland and his small workspace
where he began his career in Bozman. Maryland.

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July 26, 2023 In

Bernie Houston

Hometown: Savannah, GA

For over four decades Bernie Houston has traveled both nationally and internationally collecting driftwood with most pieces found in the Atlantic region of the United States.

 

Bernie grew up off the coast of Savannah Georgia where he was surrounded by driftwood. “The paradigm shift for me as a very young artist was selling my first sculpture right out of the box in a gallery in my own home town”.

 

Bernie studied art at the prestigious Savannah College of Art & Design. After graduation and while working as a graphic artist, he continues to present and exhibit his sculptures in galleries and art festivals across the country.

 

Because nature does not mimic itself Bernie’s creations are fifty percent nature – fifty percent the unique talent and creativity of the artist. His entire collection is one-of-a-kind and created using one solid piece of driftwood. There is not a single piece like it on the planet. Bernie believes the wood determines the nature of the piece so he meticulously chooses driftwood based on its age, shape and overall form. His sculptures take shape first with curing then careful cutting and sanding. In the final stages, Bernie’s sculptures come to life with the finishing touches of polish and paint.

 

Bernie’s gift is his ability to visualize and carve each piece of driftwood into a unique work of art. The right tools, the right style of carving, and complete attention to detail result in truly unique and wonderful masterpieces.

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October 19, 2022 In

Don Rambadt

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI

“I sculpt because I enjoy the challenge of manipulating space, I choose birds as my subject matter because they fascinate me to no end.”

 

Using birds as a point of departure for his welded sculptures, Don explores the relationship of positive and negative space and manipulates this interplay to give the impression of life and movement in his work. Although somewhat abstract, his artwork is firmly based on anatomical accuracy and fidelity to his subjects character. “I feel you should have an intimate understanding of your subject matter before you attempt to abstract it. This allows you to select which characteristics to emphasize, or de-emphasize, to portray your subject truthfully..without extraneous clutter “.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Don was born, raised, and currently lives in Milwaukee WI.
After earning his BFA from UW Milwaukee in 1995, he began sculpting part-time while partnering in the establishment of Vanguard Sculpture Services, a full service art foundry, where he specialized in the casting and fabrication of monumental bronze sculpture. In 2001 he left the foundry to focus his sculpture full time. Don also teaches an introduction to welded sculpture course at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and has been a yearly exhibitor at the Waterfowl Festival since 1997. He was inducted into the Festival Hall of Fame in 2017.

 

Don has exhibited his sculptures across the United States and abroad, and has had his work included the international “Bird’s in Art” Exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodsen Art Museum in Wausau, WI 19 times. He was honored with the Woodson’s “Master Artist” award in 2017. He has public placements in seven states, and his work can be found in numerous museum and private collections around the world. He is also an avid bird watcher, and holds a Master class falconry permit.

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August 23, 2022 In

Jim Green

Hometown: Hermosa, SD

Jim Green’s bronze sculptures originate from his time growing up in South Dakota. While his work life was spent in industrial workshops, much of his free time was spent in the outdoors nurturing a deep love of nature. As a young man he experimented in various forms and subject matter—but always returned to wildlife sculpture. Birds are a perfect expression of his desire to protect the beauty that sustains us.

 

Jim personally completes each edition’s metal finishing and patina; highlighting the work and its subtleties and enhancing the story told by each piece.

 

Jim’s sculptures and the stories they tell are found in many juried art shows, exhibitions, permanent exhibits, and private collections across the country and abroad. His work has won numerous sculpture awards, and is represented by respected galleries in Maine, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.

 

He is an Elected Member of the National Sculpture Society.

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August 23, 2022 In

Scott Penegar

Hometown: Charleston, SC

I received my art degree from Appalachian State University. Following graduation, I moved to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and worked as a commercial fisherman. Continuing my education, I attended the College of Charleston to study marine biology. Deciding to pursue art over science, I moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico and trained with the artist Jan D’Esopo.  After much traveling, including two transatlantic sailing trips, I moved back to Charleston to become a full-time artist. My work is collected internationally and I am a signature member in the American Society of Marine Artists.

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May 20, 2022 In

Eric Tardif

Hometown: Gatineau, Québec, Canada

Inspired by nature, but also the art of the First Nations of Canada (the aboriginal people of Canada who are not Inuit or Métis), Eric Tardif is sensitive to the expressive possibilities. His passion for birds, their elegance and grace in movement, is a source of inspiration that stimulates his imagination and creation. But the figure remains for him only a starting point; it cannot fully communicate his vision without the evocative impressions of abstraction. The innovative character of his work has earned him a number of awards in Japan and the U.S.

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May 20, 2022 In

Paul Rhymer

Hometown: Point of Rocks, MD

Paul comes from a family of artists and has drawn and painted his whole life.  After receiving an Associate of Arts degree from a local college in 1984, he accepted a job at the Smithsonian Institution doing taxidermy and model making and retired in 2010.  In the late 90’s as a result of so much three-dimensional work in his museum job, his own personal artwork gradually began to transform from painting and drawing into sculpture.  Being an avid birder, waterfowl hunter, and taxidermist gives him constant anatomy and behavioral learning experiences that inspire his sculpture.

 

Paul’s work has been exhibited in such prestigious art shows such as the National Sculpture Society, the Society of Animal Artists and Birds in Art. His wildlife sculpture is at the National Zoo, National Museum of Natural History, the Denver Zoo, Woodson Art Museum, Hiraim Blauvelt Museum and various public buildings and parks and private collections thought the US. He is on the Board of Directors for the Society of Animal Artists.

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