Virginia has become well regarded in Tulsa for both her artwork and her involvement in the arts since her move from New York in 1989. Her unique "organic" works have been exhibited in dozens of solo and group shows nationwide since 1984 and in galleries in New York, Oregon, Chicago, Santa Fe, Florida, and at the M.A. Doran gallery in Tulsa.
When Virginia isn't producing art, she's teaching it at The Philbrook Museum of Art and with the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa.
Virginia received her M.A. in sculpture from New York University after earning a B.A. in Visual Arts from Bennington College. She also studied in France and in Murano, Italy, under Glass Artisan Livio Seguso
I've worked in both clay and glass mediums since 1980. My clay pieces have always been hand built, low fire ceramic pieces with under-glazes, and lusters. Throughout the years, my sculpture subjects embodied my love of nature, birds and aquatic themes, including underwater subjects and boats representing transportation, transition, and transformation. Overall, my work is recognized for its painterly detailed under-glaze applications.
Most recently, my new subjects in clay involve creating multiple pieces that are displayed together to tell a story. In my famous artist series, for instance, each small, detailed artist is surrounded by his or her easel, furniture, and miniature copies of their famous paintings, and/or sculptures. They tell a story about the artist in the details of their pieces. In my pet series, popular dog and cat breeds are positioned on furniture and accessorized with pillows, frisbees, bones and/or packaged gifts.
I am not only having a lot of fun creating these new pieces, but feel my abilities increasing as an artist. Creating recognizeable figures is challenging and I learn so much more about each subject I create. The pieces are both realistic representations of the artists and their works, while still being whimsical and fun.