Sculptors Group
The AAG Sculptors Group promotes all types of sculpture. From clay to stone, glass, crochet, quilting, wood, paper, fabric, metal, plastic- ANY types of materials! We invite all AAG members to our monthly meetings and studio tours. We tend to visit the artists studios instead of having presentations at AAG . The artist’s studio is the heart of their creative spirit.
Studio Tours provide an in-depth view to all aspects of the art-making process: This is an opportunity to learn about the artist’s creative process and inspirations, from research to creation. It is an exciting way to see a variety of studios, tools, construction methods and more. Most studio visits include a demonstration of a part or entire work of art.
Plans for upcoming Sculptor Group presentations are underway. Be sure to check back regularly.
NOTE: Unless an event is posted as ‘OPEN’, all events/ presentations are for AAG members.
I am always looking for new artist/ sculptors to showcase in the general Phoenix area and ANY types of media. Please email me with any ideas. Maybe you?? :)
John Kaskela, Sculptors Group Chair
Upcoming Events
2024
2025
Previous Events
Studio Visit with
Joan Waters
Saturday, June 29
10-12
location: 2141 E. Cedar Street, Suite 1, Tempe, AZ 85281
Our presenter, Joan Waters, is a dynamic artist. She brings her interests and decades of knowledge into each of the pieces she creates. Joan’s artist statement: I interpret the rhythms, shapes and movements found in nature, without directly representing easily recognizable objects or scenes. Her pieces embody a powerful physical presence and spirit which evolves over time from the process of manual labor and working the metal intuitively. I have always had an interest in African art and ritual scarification. The skin is pierced to create patterns of raised scars on the body to signify rites of passage. I enjoy the challenge of turning flat, hard, industrial material into organic forms that seem to shift and move as they reflect light.
I use welding tools as one would use traditional art tools—seeking to “draw” with the mig welder, “erase” with an angle grinder, and “cut out shapes” with the 10,000-degree plasma torch. I seek to invent interesting textures and imply organic life in the industrial material. Layers of colored patinas bring the aesthetics of painting to sculpture. The shifting dark and light shapes and added color evoke feelings and invite an emotional response from the viewer.
If you are not a member of the AAG you are welcome to attend, however, since space is limited, you will be added to the ‘wait list’ and notified prior to the event. This includes ‘non-member’ friends of members. This includes ‘non-member’ friends of members.
RSVP : email John Kaskela to register
Studio Visit with Jeff Zischke
Saturday, March 23, 2024 | Noon.
location: 6400 East Cholla, Scottsdale
Our next tour will be Jeff Zischke. Jeff is an artist and designer who has achieved international acclaim with a wide variety of public and private art commissions. Zischke explores the cutting edge of sculpture, public art, mixed media and urban transformation. His permanent and temporary projects draw inspiration from organic shapes and modern technology. Using materials from bamboo to plastics, steel and computer controlled LED light fixtures He creates interactive installations that respond to nature as well as the urban environment. His sculptural environments embody local identity and invite residents to form a personal and dynamic relationship with the art and the place.
We visited Jeff approx 3 years ago, and it was an amazing visit! From his inspirations, to first drafts, to mock-ups, to the final piece, we got to see it all!
March’s tour will be on Saturday, March 23rd @ 12 noon. 6400 East Cholla. Scottsdale. Right now, there is no limit on visitors. You’ll need to contact me: desertzilla057@gmail.com to get on the ‘going’ list.
RSVP : email John Kaskela to register
PRIVATE tour of the Cosanti facility
Thursday, Febraury 22, 2024 | 11:35am.
15 person limit
location: 6433 E Doubletree Ranch Rd, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
About Cosanti:
Cosanti was founded by Italian architect Paolo Soleri who came to the US in 1947 to study under Frank Lloyd Wright. The apprenticeship with Wright, while contentious and brief, influenced Soleri and his life’s work profoundly and cemented his interest in incorporating natural elements as Wright had into his architectural designs. Soleri and his wife built Cosanti in the mid 1950’s. The structures at Cosanti are experiments in passive solar heating and cooling, frugality, recycling, and cleverly building structures according to the sun’s position in the sky to warm the semi-outdoor spaces in the winter and cool them in the summer. The otherworldly structures and dwellings that comprise Cosanti date back to the late 1950s and early 1960s and have earned Cosanti a place on the Arizona Registry of Historic Places.
This private tour is an exciting opportunity to see Cosanti. Our group will have the opportunity to watch one of the daily bronze pours and interact with the foundry crew. We may be lucky enough to have a member of the Cosanti sculpture team give a special walk through of the unique lost-styrofoam casting process that they use for Paolo’s handmade sculptural pieces.
RSVP by February 20, 2024
EMAIL John Kaskela to register for this exciting event. You will need to fill out and sign a Consent and Release waiver in advance of the tour.
Plan on arriving by 11:35, at the latest. Check in is 15 minutes early at the Gallery front desk. The tour starts at 12:05pm sharp!
Tips for making it a pleasurable experience: Cosanti is mostly outdoors, and while we will stop frequently, plan appropriately for the weather. Hats, sunscreen, water, and good shoes are recommended. The grounds and structures at Cosanti have narrow pathways, steps, uneven walkways and other structural and natural features that may be challenging to guests with mobility concerns. If you have concerns or wish to discuss your particular mobility needs please contact Cosanti directly at tours@cosanti.com.
Space is limited. RSVP to attend by emailing Sculptors Group Chair, John Kaskela
Studio Visit with
Ray Richardson
Saturday, April 27, 2024 | 1:30 pm
location: 131 West Villa Maria Dr. Phx AZ, 85023
We will be visiting a wood artist, Ray Richardson, for our April Presentation. Ray joined AAG a few months ago and won artist of the month, his first time walking in the door! For our visit, he plans on focusing on inspiration, investigation and intuition. Art as a state of play!
About Ray’s work: “Something about birds and their ability to fly inspires curious associations in our minds. Man has seen birds as the bearers of souls of the dead and messengers, sent from on high to imbue wisdom, share the truth, and speak prophecy.
The bird becomes a vehicle. I observe them in the course of my day and they hijack my imagination. I am carried away by flashes of bright plumage engaged in aerial acrobatics. The tiny pilots barrel-roll into my senses. They make journeys: some which cover the long miles over the Earth; others traversing the distance between my brain, heart, and my hands; distances between realities.
Wood is ideal for mapping these journeys. Pragmatically, the bulk of the lumber I utilize is scrap material collected from job sites, cabinet shops, etc. There is something very satisfying about saving beautiful pieces of wood from the fire. In turn it seems to become a willing & forgiving partner in the processes of shaping.”
RSVP : email John Kaskela to register
A visit with Ceramic Sculptor, Casey Hanrahan
Saturday January 27, 2024 | 1:00 pm.
15 person limit
location: 6309 W Crown King Rd, Phoenix
cross streets: lower Buckeye and 63rd ave. It’s right off the new 202 loop Lower Buckeye exit.
Casey combines function and the colors of the desert in her works, but, unexpected color combinations also make her tactile pottery pop! Some of her latest pieces combine her ceramics with led lighting! Casey’s presentation will include a demonstration on how she paints in molds and slip casts her pieces. She will also discuss her design and processes and how she makes her small, home studio space work.
Casey Hanrahan is a ceramic artist from the small New England town of Oakdale, CT. She studied at Hartford Art School in Hartford, CT where she received a BFA in Ceramics and Illustration in 2012. For the next five years, she taught high school art at St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, CT. In 2017 Casey moved from Connecticut to Phoenix, AZ to attend the ASU ceramic graduate program. Casey received her Master’s in ceramics from the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University in 2020.
caseyhanrahanceramics.com/
Space is limited. RSVP to attend by emailing Sculptors Group Chair, John Kaskela
