Celebrating arts and culture in our community
Featured in the Springfield Beacon (January 16, 2008)
By Todd Peterson
Springfield Beacon
Sally LaMarcheBringing figurative sculpture to life
Sally LaMarche began sculpting in grade school, winning a soap-carving contest at the age of twelve. While living in Arizona in the 1960’s, she began making pottery and creating sculpture from clay. Year’s later, when she moved to Oregon, Sally sold pottery at Saturday Market and began making bronze sculpture which she continues to do today.
Sally calls her figurative sculpture “representational” of what she sees in subjects of her sculpture. She says having two or three pieces always in progress “keeps her amused.” But creating bronze sculpture is getting more costly and there is only one local source for casting – Steve Reinmuth’s Bronze Foundry.
Sally also volunteers to teach sculpture through an international organization, Cross-Cultural Solutions. She went to Tanzania where she taught for four weeks, using local clay and their meager stream water for teaching her art to young students. Her journey included going on a weeklong safari and having a “hang out” week in the country after her teaching assignment.
Sally enjoys going to a weekly gathering of sculptors in our community led by Paul Buckner, UO emeritus professor of sculpture. She joined the Emerald Art Center in mid-2007 and is presenting her first show as a member-artist this month.Viewers of Sally LaMarche’s sculpture at the art center – most of which are figures 12 to 24 inches tall – will see the beauty of the human body, the struggles of human experience, and the imagination of an artist.
In her own words:
Inspiration To Begin: “My teachers in grade school got me started and many other people have inspired me throughout my life. When I was a young mother, my one-year old daughter was an inspiration for a sculpture. And my mother inspired the creation of a garden sculpture – an elf, two feet tall. I had to learn how to put pieces together to make such a large sculpture.”
Important Mentors: “At the Tucson Museum Art School, Tom Beranger mentored me. Later, my teachers at Lane Community College -- Bill Blix, Eric Land, and Ellen Tykeson -- were important influences. Among my favorite sculptors are Michelangelo, Bernini, Houdon, and Rodin.”
Value of Art in Life: “Sculpting is something I love to do -- so I do it. I hope people who experience my work will enjoy seeing my view of people and the other subjects I sculpt.”
Artist’s Legacy: “I haven’t really thought about it. I suppose my legacy will be the sculpture pieces I’ve given to my children and a public sculpture I created that is in the Lewis & Clark College Library.”
“Quest” by Sally LaMarche
“Maasai” by Sally LaMarcheAll art images and photos of the art are copyright of the artist.
__________________________________________________________________About The Artist
Birthplace: Glendale, AZ
Arts Education: Tucson Museum of Art; Lane Community College
Media of Choice: Clay
Favorite Place to Do Art: Anywhere
Favorite Subjects To Sculpt: People & Animals
Arts Organizations: Emerald Empire Arts Association & Maude Kerns Art Center
Current Show: At the Emerald Art Center (thru Feb. 2)
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