The Evolution Of My Art
I have known that I wanted to be an artist since the age of five and that knowing has led me down several different paths but I believe they have all converged into the sculpting with stone that I have dedicated my artistic pathway to now for the past 8 years. Before this, a lifelong love of figure drawing and painting, and a career in fashion design and illustration that have completely informed and nurtured a fertile background.
At the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York I specialized in haute couture design and was so completely entranced by the gorgeous textiles available in that realm, as well as the painstaking hands on process of creating a beautiful, one of a kind, made to order garment. Inspired by the iconic designs of Schiaparelli, Balenciaga and Gaultier, their works taught me to find the harmony between line, proportion, shape, color and detail, all intrinsic to the beauty and grace of the design. And in that expression of the most exquisite garment, art is created. Stone has a similar allure for me in that the medium is so gorgeous in and of itself and harbors an energy that I connect with. It is a tactile art form where I must feel the stone as I go just as when draping a garment, I must feel the character and movement of the cloth.
Stone is of the earth, actually is the earth and I love seeing how people are influenced by the work when they see it. Sculpture in stone special in that it begs to be touched. People always ask me if they can touch my sculptures, an aspect of stone sculpture I enjoy very much. I love see how they interact with it, move around it, let their eyes travel through and around it, which then evokes a mood or a feeling. And in this mood or feeling they can get in touch with something within them. I come from a place of pure joy when I’m doing my art so my hope is that this energy gets infused into it and helps people transcend the intellect and just feel and sense an awareness of being alive. Stone sculpture also has a timelessness. Just like the timeless little black dress there is a grace an an elegance in stone that I always try to honor in each piece I create.
By Christina Bertsos
