Lisa Svircic

Lisa Svircic
www.artgesture.com

“Winter’s Approaching”

I received my Fine Art’s Degree in Painting/Drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and spent my last semester in Italy and Europe. I went to the former Soviet Union during my Spring Break, which gave me a chance to experience the incredible art in the Hermitage Museum. These early experiences, plus over 17 years of ballet training, have helped shape me as an artist. Although I did not formally train to be a sculptor, I’ve always maintained an interested in the human figure through life drawing sessions, ballet classes, and by studying masterpieces of famous artists.

My passion for sculpting began with the Fall 2008 “Roman Art from the Louvre” at the Seattle Art Museum. Seeing these exquisite human forms that had been carved from such an ancient medium was quite a powerful experience for me. This exhibit, combined with all of the art I had seen during my years of traveling, convinced me to change course and teach myself how to sculpt from stone. I found that with each stone comes lessons learned and experience gained.

I sculpt many different stones of varying degrees of hardness, such as alabaster, chlorite, honeycomb calcite, and limestone. Using traditional stone carving tools (hammer, chisels, rifflers…) allows me a certain amount of control over how the stone is developing. By working slowly, I am able to react to any flaws in the stone that might change the design. Sculpting essentially becomes a relationship between me and the stone; enhancing its strengths, softening its weaknesses, and eventually bringing out the natural beauty that’s been there all along.

Lisa Svircic
www.artgesture.com
lisa@artguesture.com