The Rarity of the Female Sculptor

Patsy’s work in bronze reflects many years of discipline and attention to detail. But more importantly, are the stories her sculptures tell, the sense of movement, and most of all a glimpse into the hearts and minds of the animals she portrays. Patsy is a carver and her process is to subtract rather than model the form. She relies on strong planes rather than soft round forms or modeled surfaces. For Patsy, the form must always be good design. Equally important for her is to capture the moment of life portrayed. Thirdly, there is often an allegorical thread underlying each of her sculptures.

Lisa's passion for bronze casting and her fondness for horses are clearly seen in her powerful, yet sensitive sculptures. For her, the relationship that she develops with a horse while grooming and bonding through touch, mirrors the feelings of running her fingers over was as it warms and molds into muscles and gestures that evolve into a horse's form and in turn, into a sculpture. Breathing new life into a historical subject, her work portrays horses balanced on spheres, walking through hoops, straddling pedestals, swaying on rockers, or bouncing on springs. Lisa places these powerful creatures in whimsical scenes as a metaphor for the human experience, demonstrating the balance between having fun and giving life purpose.

Christin grew up surrounded by numerous artists. As a part of her family’s bronze-casting foundry, she developed a style of art that was entirely her own. Creating her first piece when she was only ten years old, her work has now been sought after and collected for over 30 years by clients throughout the United States. Each of her bronze vessels is an original, as she doesn’t create any molds. Her use of different stones, crystals, and shells makes her work unique and interesting. Christin’s clients have included The First Lady of New Mexico, Alice King, The Council of Energy Resource Tribes in Colorado, and Los Alamos National Lab.

Rosetta creates sculptures of animals that depict the life force of the animal, in all of its visual splendor, rather than a realistic depiction of outward appearances. While keeping the animal’s basic form true to reality, it is her interpretation of that form, motion, and inner spirit that is an expression of her art. Rosetta’s style has been described as hard-edged yet soft, sensitive yet powerful. It is a combination of her great appreciation for the wondrous qualities of beauty, power, and profound innocence that she personally senses in the animals, a blending of realism and abstraction. Her piece, High Country Totem, seen above, received First Place 3-Dimensional at Cowgirl Up! 2023.

Star has been creating a vast body of work for over three decades. Her soulful sculptures reflect her interest in the people, animals, environment, and history of the Southwest. A continuing source of inspiration for her bronze sculptures comes from exploring the history and culture of the region’s native peoples and the mythology of ancient sacred sites. An avid horsewoman, her daily rides in the surrounding open vistas on her ranch near Abiquiu, New Mexico keep her deeply connected to the environment that she loves. Her monumental bronze sculptures are held in collections across the country including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.; Miami Zoo in Miami, Florida, and Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, NM.