Depth & Dimension

Three sculptors share their techniques, inspirations and insights.

PEREGRINE O’GORMLEY

Where do you live and work?
At my home studio in La Conner, Washington.

What interested you in sculpture, and what is your main source of inspiration?
Both my father and my grandfather were sculptors. Sculpture was a source of joy from about the age of 4. It has always been something that draws me in. Ideas that come to me inspire the imagery and the pull to create the physical forms. The natural world provides limitless subject matter, but the ideas are more about human experience than about the subjects themselves. Perhaps better, would be to describe the ideas as deriving from living experience, being more universal than the human experience.

What is your creative process?
When an idea or visual form comes to me, I’m often working on another project or series of projects that I need to complete prior to engaging with the new form. To bookmark these, I sketch them quickly. As I finish the prior projects I am able to pick up those in waiting. It is often a year or more, sometimes many years, before I can begin the project. Sometimes procuring the appropriate materials for the work requires a lengthy span of time. In the case of the life-size wolf carving, it took five years to collect the necessary materials to produce the piece. For some artists, the material informs the nature of the piece. Finding the material to accommodate the imagined project is key for my process.

Where did you study art?
I’m self-taught.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
There are many opportunities and museum exhibitions that stand out in my mind including a solo exhibition at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art and being invited to show at Prix de West, but sincerely the most precious highlight of all remains being able to do what I love daily to support my family.

contact information
peregrineogormley.com

representation
Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, gpgallery.com
Simpson Gallagher Gallery, Cody, WY, simpsongallaghergallery.com
Smith & Vallee Gallery, Edison, WA, smithandvalleegallery.com

 

CHRIS TURRI

Where do you live and work?
Corrales, New Mexico.

What interested you in sculpture, and what is your main source of inspiration?
My interest and inspiration come from my love of Native culture, the landscape and the stuff people leave behind. I’ve always been drawn to the sculpture in nature from the windblown ripples in the sand dunes at White Sands National Monument in southern New Mexico where I grew up to the sandstone monoliths and hoodoos in Northern New Mexico. Through the years of exploring the landscape I have collected so much metal and at some point these elements just collided with my creative energy.

What is your creative process?
Locating the perfect color of reclaimed material, like the hoods or doors of vehicles from the old days—I let the patina, shapes and character of the metals guide me. From there I just go to work. I get into a “zone” and before I know it the piece emerges. Occasionally I will see the piece in my head and do a quick sketch, and then I go find the pieces that will bring it to fruition.

Where did you study art?
I had an art teacher in high school in 1976 who inspired me. I learned sculpture, jewelry making and a little drawing. I became attracted to the Native American ways of working turquoise and silver from tufa casting to hand-making the stamps for the designs. From there, my oldest brother bought a silversmithing class for me and it launched my jewelry making, cutting turquoise, cabbing stones and learning the traditional ways. I became a tradesman and learned nearly every aspect of construction where I was stunned by what was discarded on a job site. I started collecting and creating. Essentially, I am self-taught as an artist supported by a few great mentors early in my life.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
In 2009 I was invited into a gallery on Canyon Road in Santa Fe. It offered me an opportunity to be seen by many art collectors and it helped me to grow as an artist exponentially.

contact information
christurriart.com

representation
Dominique Boisjoli Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, dominiqueboisjoli.com

 

KATHY WARDLE

Where do you live and work?
I live and work in Brighton, Colorado.

What interested you in sculpture and what is your main source of inspiration?
As a child, I enjoyed countless hours of creating figures from bread and pie crust dough. So, bread dough and pie crust interested me in sculpture. My main source of inspiration is the depiction of the human form in action. Through the pose, gesture and expression of my figures, I attempt to depict humankind’s finest traits in my artwork. Courage, bravery, triumph, hope, kindness, joy and love are emotive themes that I have tried to communicate in past works.

What is your creative process?
My creative process involves mental visualization, research and time photographing and measuring human models. I then create small pieces in clay for approval by my client. Those small maquettes are enlarged and sculpted in oil-based clay. Molds are made and sent to the foundry for casting in bronze.

Where did you study art?
I studied sculpture with American sculptor George Lundeen. I earned my master’s degree in visual arts from the University of Northern Colorado where I taught art for several years.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
My career highlight is being chosen by the Rockport Center for the Arts to create a centerpiece for the town of Rockport, Texas. Working with the staff and supporters of the center was delightful. BEACH DAY, a sculpture showing a family of five going to the beach, came from that honor.

contact information
wardlearts.com

This story appeared in the August/September 2023 issue of Southwest Art magazine.