Mass & Scale
Sculptor Rebecca Welz offers a lift from New York
We all have at least a memory or two of an especially sparkly moment. One of mine occurred on a snowy and cold winter night at a northern Vermont artist residency, when I found myself laughing over a glass of wine with artists Rebecca Welz and Peter Griffin in Peter’s guest quarters.
Rebecca and Peter were friends already, but I had just met them both when they visited my studio for critique, and I couldn’t believe they’d invited me into their small party, included me as if I, too, were an old friend. The connecting joy, the fundamental inclusivity, of that evening spent with kindred spirits warms me still.
Peter is gone now, died too soon, and I hope you’ll check out his work. Though I knew him only briefly, the way he played with line and color and the passion with which he talked about and taught art made an indelible impression. I can’t see color anymore without thinking just a little about Peter’s eye for it as form.
Likewise, I can’t lift anything without thinking about Rebecca. When we met, she was working on such a grand and heavy scale that lifts and pulleys were not optional in her studio. Somehow she made and makes heavy and massive “light and airy,” and this is a metaphor for a kind of generosity that sustains and lifts me up in more ways than I can count.
I love, too, that recently, as she has settled into a new studio on the other side of the river, she has been experimenting with a different scale, materials, and color. One great beauty of knowing an artist for a time, is the opportunity to follow the through line of their process, to witness the unfolding of a creative consciousness and conscience across a life lived. What an inspiring gift!
With great pleasure, FED serves up a slice of this gift for you this week. I hope that you will find lift, joy, perspective, and sustenance as you contemplate the pieces and read what Rebecca has to say about her journey and process. May it warm you.
Big love, Ashley
Rebecca Welz, selected work and words
Last year I moved into a new studio in Jersey City, NJ. The space is on the 4thfloor of an old fire hose making factory with windows on two sides. Not only is the light spectacular but I can see the Hudson River, the Verrazano Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. I confess to spending time ship watching and have an app called Marine Traffic where I can identify the ships. This has opened up a world of thinking about supply, commerce, trade and quantity. I am particularly intrigued by the container ships that appear to almost not fit under the bridge and carry so many containers that it is unfathomable that we consume that much stuff.
My focus on rivers began a few years ago when I was flying in a small plane in Costa Rica and photographed small rivers from above. I was fascinated by the types of curves the water forges in the land. From above the rivers seemed like veins in the earth carrying lifeblood. Drawing from these and continuing observations, I have been working on an open ended series of mixed media collages. I have started making small forms out of air drying clay which are strung on wires and integrated with welded steel forms. This is an exciting new departure for my work to combine different media, color, and form.
The paradigm for welded steel sculpture is mass and scale. I use steel as a medium to draw with, shaping curves with an oxy acetylene torch, growing the forms spontaneously and intuitively. My pieces can be heavy physically but they look light and airy. Organisms in nature are always changing, growing or decaying into food for someone else. My work reflects the patterns of growth in nature.
P.S Rebecca shared one of her favorite recipes with us to pass along to you. Remember The Silver Palate Cookbook? Yes or no, check it out here. And, for a slice of winter decadence, and with all due respect to copyright, here’s a recipe for chocolate cake:
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