Above: The postcard
composite is of a method Sandra uses in mask making, parade characters, and set
design elements. Large clay originals, and covered in paper mâché, then
painted. She will be making two Madonna
figures for ABC Players Sister Act and some
fake stained glass windows. Sandra has made many trees, lions, tigers, etc. over
the years.
SE Ohio Artist: An Interview with Sandra
Russell
By GinaMcKnight
In a small town
you can meet at the local coffee shop and share ideas. Creative ideas. Southeastern
Ohio is full of prolific writers, artists, musicians, and other creatives; a deep
sea of hidden gems. It has been my good fortune to be able to work with a few
of Ohio’s best. Every day I have the opportunity to find a pearl, ruby, or emerald
– all different, all beautiful.
On this
particular day, I met with local artist Sandra Russell. Contemplating ideas, we collaborated on a journal cover.
I love Sandra’s graceful designs, flowing on paper, igniting imagination.
If you
attend the ACENet
Women’s Conference on May 17, 2019, you will receive a journal (compliments
of Monday Creek Publishing)
featuring Sandra’s art. Sandra shares her bio…
Sandra Russell (illustrator) was born on a dreary
rainy December afternoon in the parlor of a farmhouse midway between Athens and
Albany Ohio. She started drawing at a young age when her grandmother, a painter
herself, gave her charcoal and paints. Sandra holds a BFA in sculpture and
painting and a master’s degree in art history from Ohio University. Professional
work includes a wax pattern maker for monumental bronze sculptures, and for gold jewelry manufacture. Sandra was chief
porcelain painter for Lee Middleton. She recently has been active as parade
puppet designer (paper mâché) seen in festival parades and in the recent past
given much time to theater work, as a set designer, props master, and performer
with local community theater groups. Sandra lives in Southeast Ohio and is the
mother of a pharmacist, actress, sculptor, painter, named Chloe.
Welcome, Sandra!
GM: Are you
a naturally gifted artist or have you attended classes to become the talented
artist you are today?
SR: Natural,
as in called "the artist" since 1st grade. In 4th grade, I made
coloring books for the class. High school won some contests and an art
"talent" scholarship in art to Ohio University. Then trained off and
on as a student, finally got BFA in Studio arts, sculpture major, then much later a master’s
in art history focused on Renaissance and Baroque painting and sculpture.
GM: What
mediums do you like to use?
SR: Different
media bring out different expressions. I learned that I show a sensual
figurative mythic idealized or fantasy tendency in sculpture, but with
photography, it's all about the inner psychology of people, the dual nature of angst
fear or "other" inside - a calm exterior...earned me the nickname of
"spooky" in the photo lab. I didn't see it till years later when I
could step away from the work and see it with a cold eye. I really like working
in clay, wax, paint, paper mâché, pen and ink... lots of things. I guess the
key is to have something to say, then to find the medium that says it best for
me?
GM: Describe
your studio...
SR:
GM: What are you currently creating?
SR: I am currently working on a shoe for a Miss Ohio candidate, and set designing a play, plus doing a few paintings… hope to have a soiree in my garage sometime next month and hang (some new artwork) for viewing, but still in process. Also trying to sew a dress, I'm not really a seamstress… (haha using a very simple pattern).
GM: Do you
have a mentor or muse that propels your creativity? Favorite artist?
SR: Mentors
are anyone I respect and admire... favorite artist is impossible to say, as I
have so many. One thing I think is true of love, and the love of any art for
that matter is that there are basically two kinds… the first is WoW love this!!!
Love at first sight, want to jump in with both feet sort of joyous response.
The 2nd one is what? That? You've got to be kidding me, this is boring, ugly,
dull, or irritating... but you study it, you work on it, you find why it bugs
you, or what you need to do to craft a beauty of it, and that becomes love for
what time and effort you put into it. For example, I might joyously love a
Renoir, but I will reluctantly love a sculpture by Donatello… when push comes
to shove which one will I spend on a $3,000 plane ticket to study and
understand... the pretty one or the puzzle? I think you know the answer.
GM: Do you
have advice for novice artists?
SR: My advice
is to have something to say, then start saying it. Art works when words fail… sometimes
you don't know what you are saying, so do art and let it tell you what you
think.
GM: List 10 things that your fans may not know
about you...
SR: Things you
may not know about me…
1. I love horses
2. I was left handed as a
baby and blue-eyed, didn't stay that way
3. I've been to Italy 3
times, and want to go again
4. I like lemon suckers/popsicles
best
5. I am a very good
cook/baker
6. I love optical toys,
prisms, peek-a-boo Easter eggs, stereo photos, flip books, logic puzzles
7. Spring is my favorite
season
8. I've seen the Grand Canyon
and Niagara Falls
9. One night drove a tugboat
on the Mississippi River for about five minutes
10. I jumped off a high dive
as a kid on a dare and I can't swim
This is a 'for fun' ceramic tile relief mosaic Sandra made based on the artwork of
Marc Chagall. "I have made so many tiles and paintings on flat ones, that to
find images would require getting into many boxes, and that would not cover the
number done in the 90's as I seldom document anything."
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