SANDY GRAVES
Born in Denver, Colorado, and growing up in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, I first displayed my work at the county fairs as a 4-H member. As I continued my education, mostly at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, I worked in many different mediums. Sculpture was always a favorite and came naturally to me.
I see bronze sculpture as being a friendly and beautiful medium. I enjoy watching the public interact with art. In sculpture, viewers can walk around it, touch it, and become part of the artistic expression in a very personal way.
After graduating from CSU in 1993 with a degree in fine arts and a concentration in sculpture, I began work as a high school art teacher in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I continued in that field for 16 years while I also did my own work mostly for myself.
I chose art education as an occupation because I love interacting with people and have focused on the figure as my sculptural subject for the same reason. The figure is special because people react to it in such an instantaneous and personal way.
I hope to remind viewers of special moments and memories of our human experience. Recently, I have been working in the abstract with horses being the subject. It is a familiar subject for me as I owned and rode horses as a young girl.
In 1999 I cast and sold my first Bronze. Since then, I have continued to work in the medium realistically and abstractly. I have been awarded and have completed private and public commissions.
A few examples of commissioned work are: a portrait of the founder of the Lowell Whiteman School, a life-size student for the Scottsbluff Public School Foundation in Scottsbluff NE, multiple high-relief wall hangings, a life-size bronze of three children playing created for the Steamboat Springs Chamber.
I enjoy the interaction with the individuals commissioning the work as we communicate to plan and build the visual and tactile form that expresses their individual sentiments.