Mike Collins Sculptures

Mixed media artwork - bronze sculpture installed on velvet

Sylwia Jakubowska-Szycik is professor at the Academy of Fine Arts at the Faculty of Sculpture and Intermedia in Gdańsk, she conducts classes in the f...

Artist Commentary: Spira Fiore comes from a body of work based on a tying system I created which draws inspiration from sea shells. It is made of three layers of bamboo. One layer u...

medium: reclaimed button-down shirts, wire, flower frog ARTIST STATEMENT "Flowers have been a large part of my work for years, but they took on new meaning for me in 2020. As our backyards and gardens became a common respite from the fear, isolation, and boredom of the early days of the pandemic, I thought about the ubiquity of flowers in our lives. We use them to celebrate when life is good, as well as to sooth ourselves when it is not. Their ambiguity is what allows them to be such a versatile symbol. As the world became more uncertain, I craved beauty, both in my life and in my work. Fairly quickly the floral motifs that have been a mainstay of my wall installations began to dominate my sculptures and appear in my paint-chip mosaic work. Most of my flowers are created using second-hand shirts sourced from thrift shops. As I shop for materials, I focus on searching for certain colors, textures, and patterns, but I also think about the people who once cherished these items of clothing. I think about how the shirts end up here. Did the size or style no longer fit the owner? Or maybe it was part of the final Goodwill run after a loved one passed. I like to think that an article of clothing can have a memory, retaining the essence of the person who wore it and that once transformed, a little bit of that spirit becomes part of the artwork. Over the years, since I started making flowers from shirts, I’ve had many people tell me that a petal or a leaf is made from the same material as a shirt that they once had. I often wonder if objects can circle back and reunite with their previous owner. I realize that the odds are slim, but they’re not zero. If you have donated a shirt to charity in New Orleans in the last couple of years, then there is a chance that a little bit of it is hanging on the gallery wall right now." BIOGRAPHY CARLTON SCOTT STURGILL was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1971 and is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati (B.A. 2002) and Chelsea College of Art and Design (M.A. Fine Art 2005) in London, United Kingdom. His multidisciplinary body of work includes painting, sculpture, collage, and installation and incorporates a wide variety of materials, with a particular emphasis on repurposed everyday objects. His site-specific floral installations created using second-hand button-down shirts have been displayed in settings as diverse as the Drifter...

medium: reclaimed button-down shirts, wire, flower frog ARTIST STATEMENT "Flowers have been a large part of my work for years, but they took on new meaning for me in 2020. As our backyards and gardens became a common respite from the fear, isolation, and boredom of the early days of the pandemic, I thought about the ubiquity of flowers in our lives. We use them to celebrate when life is good, as well as to sooth ourselves when it is not. Their ambiguity is what allows them to be such a versatile symbol. As the world became more uncertain, I craved beauty, both in my life and in my work. Fairly quickly the floral motifs that have been a mainstay of my wall installations began to dominate my sculptures and appear in my paint-chip mosaic work. Most of my flowers are created using second-hand shirts sourced from thrift shops. As I shop for materials, I focus on searching for certain colors, textures, and patterns, but I also think about the people who once cherished these items of clothing. I think about how the shirts end up here. Did the size or style no longer fit the owner? Or maybe it was part of the final Goodwill run after a loved one passed. I like to think that an article of clothing can have a memory, retaining the essence of the person who wore it and that once transformed, a little bit of that spirit becomes part of the artwork. Over the years, since I started making flowers from shirts, I’ve had many people tell me that a petal or a leaf is made from the same material as a shirt that they once had. I often wonder if objects can circle back and reunite with their previous owner. I realize that the odds are slim, but they’re not zero. If you have donated a shirt to charity in New Orleans in the last couple of years, then there is a chance that a little bit of it is hanging on the gallery wall right now." BIOGRAPHY CARLTON SCOTT STURGILL was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1971 and is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati (B.A. 2002) and Chelsea College of Art and Design (M.A. Fine Art 2005) in London, United Kingdom. His multidisciplinary body of work includes painting, sculpture, collage, and installation and incorporates a wide variety of materials, with a particular emphasis on repurposed everyday objects. His site-specific floral installations created using second-hand button-down shirts have been displayed in settings as diverse as the Drifter...

„Presence” 2018 Pair of twin handwoven textiles, linen yarn, acrylic textile paint, aluminum construction; textiles: 310 x 67 cm; aluminum construction: 255 x 65 x 55 cm. The object...

This handwoven contemporary textile sculpture, Mineral II, was done by Chilean fiber artist, Carolina Yrarrázaval (b. 1960). Yrarrázaval explains ...

John Garrett was raised in southern New Mexico by parents who were both educators. They instilled in him an appreciation for the handmade with their collections of Native American a...

Processing Venice is a unique contemporary modern painting relief by renowned Polish-Dutch artist Eliza Kopec. This painting relief is a typical exampl...

medium: reclaimed button-down shirts, wire, flower frog ARTIST STATEMENT "Flowers have been a large part of my work for years, but they took on new meaning for me in 2020. As our ba...

This handwoven contemporary textile sculpture, Tonos Rojos, was done by Chilean fiber artist, Carolina Yrarrázaval (b. 1960). Yrarrázaval explains...

Artist Commentary: "Float" was pictured in American Craft Magazine in an article about the artist in Dec 2018. Additional hanging Bar for Float is 7’ long 10” from wall is available...