Bears By the Lake - A CeleBEARtion

Bears By The Lake....a CeleBEARtion

JUDY ARRIGOTTI

My passion for art started in fourth grade, when my parents bought me an oil paint set. They always encouraged my interest in drawing and painting. After thirty years of painting in oils and acrylics on canvas I discovered gourds. Transforming my drawings and paintings into sculptures brought new depth and dimension to all of my art. Using gourds as my canvas introduced me to the challenge of incorporating the gourd's shape into my designs.

Sometimes the gourd gives me the idea and sometimes I search through hundreds of gourds before finding just the right one to implement a design idea I've conceptualized. My sculptures are recognizable because of my intricate "cutouts". I remove the negative space to create 360 degree designs. This process combines the tactile qualities of sculptures, the visual imaging of fine paintings with nature's organic beauty. Thirty years of training and experience as a two dimensional artist and teacher helps me technically implement my ideas. Years of studying creativity have inspired me to be original and to think "out of the box".

I retired from teaching in 1999 to become a full time artist. I joined El Dorado Arts Council and Placerville Arts Association, organized the El Dorado County Artist Studio Tour for two years, taught art at the El Dorado Hills Community Service District and have taught private art lessons in my home studio since I retired. I am president and founder of the El Dorado Hills Arts Association. My art is currently featured at Chablis Gallery in Placerville. I'm a featured artist in "The Complete Book of Gourd Carving". I have embellished two life size, fiberglass lions for Sacramento's "Lions On Safari", a 6' fiberglass crane for Lodi's Sandhill Crane Festival, a wheelbarrow for Placervilles "Wheelbarrows On Parade" and now two bears for Tahoe's "CeleBEARtion".

My goal is to have a recognizable style and to communicate emotionally and intellectually through my paintings, my gourd sculpture and my public art displays. I use my art to communicate my ideas, record my memories and to convey my interests.