The Artists in Their Own Words
"Through exploring my skeleton within, I've found what propels me to paint.
Schooled in illustration, and fine art, my application of acrylic paint, coupled with an emphasis on artistic characterization arouses story, and a quest for meaning. My most prominently used subject matter, being the skull, or the skeleton, symbolizes life eternal, and a reminder to live life to its fullest in the present moment. My bold line work grounds the use of heavy symbolism, while the rhythmic placement of shape and contrast gives my paintings a sense of movement, personality, and a quality suggesting life beyond reality, engaging the viewer to step through its portal into a timeless, limitless world.
The use of vivid color in my painting is inspired by living in the enchanted city of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The fantastic light, historic charm, and unique, creative lifestyle it offers are like nowhere else in the world. My second main influence comes from my travels through South America, and our neighboring, beloved, Mexico, wherein I've been exposed to 'Dia de los Muertos' or 'Day of the Dead', a celebration honoring life in all its stages. Each pilgrimage through these brightly colored, yet simpler life settings, blesses me with a furthering of my artistic vision: an expression of the skeleton — who we all are underneath.
Each painting, allows one more skeleton to rise to the surface... And so, I continue to paint, inspired by life, and compelled by death."
- Stacey Sullivan de Maldonado
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"The art of tinwork provides me with an outlet for my creative side, as well as a connection to my New Mexican heritage.
The training I received throughout my life in the art of metalwork and welding started when I was about eight years old. My father had been a professional welder all his life and came from a long line of metal-workers and blacksmiths. I apprenticed with my father in my youth and, following college, worked for him until I took over the family welding business for a time. However, it was heavy metalwork, welding bridges, buildings, railings, etc. Later, I tried my hand at the more delicate art of tinwork and found my passion for metalwork renewed.
I enjoy hand-working the tin material. It is malleable under pressure with the use of simple hand tools, yet firm, clean, vivid, and long-lasting upon completion. I've also found I'm able to be even more self-expressive through this medium than when working with heavier metals. Even though I am the first, that I know of, in my Maldonado heritage to take up tin working, while I design, cut, punch, and solder, I imagine my ancestors in the shop with me, forging their metal alongside, while putting their two cents into each new creation I'm working on.
Due to my ingrained metal training, I create my tin for practical applications, such as framework. My aspirations are that it complements the painting set within its borders, while at the same time evoking a sense of both beauty and historical reference to New Mexico, my home. New Mexicans have been handcrafting tins for centuries. I am both proud and honored to be a part of keeping this rich, historic tradition alive."
- John F. Maldonado
Read Stacey & John's Story
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