Gallery page of Sonia Isaac's work:

Noted Bahamian-born sculptor, Joyce Petrina

About five years ago, a lot of things fell into place for me and I began to explore my own voice as an artist. Perhaps it is only a child-like delight in getting lost in hours of play or maybe it is just an excuse to be a little more eccentric than I’ve ever allowed myself to be. In any case, I have found a means to express my joys and concerns in a way that has enhanced every aspect of my daily life. I am so at peace working with my hands, creating three-dimensional expressions of thoughts, memories and concerns that occupy my mind. I simply love to do the work and am delighted when another person connects with one of my pieces.

I remember the moment sculpture came alive for me in an art gallery in Santa Fe. The piece that moved me was a bronze titled “Reincarnation” by the French artist, Pascal Pierme. The gallery owner encouraged me to touch this free-standing piece. I was blown away! Even now, I can close my eyes and remember how the bronze warmed to my touch as it gave off steady hum of energy that intrigued me. The question that came to my mind then and still does now, is: “What was the artist thinking of as he formed this incredible piece?” Somehow, he had managed to transfer some of that energy into his creation. I aspire to imbuing my own work in a similar way.

I am mostly self-educated by trial and error and pure desire. I have pursued this art form as much as my life as a homemaker and mother of two young boys would allow. Nancy Shepherd started me with the basics of portrait sculpture at The University of Memphis. At the Lugar Foundry in Eads, I learned about the Lost Wax bronze Casting . I furthered my studies at the Memphis College of Art where I sketched from live models under the tutelage of Tom Delaney. With Anne Enochs, I explored Drawing on the Right Side of The Brain, based on a book of the same name by Betty Edwards.

I am continuing an on-going exploration into the many aspects of Women’s lives. This body of work won an Award of Merit at the Manhattan Arts 2000 HERSTORY Competition in New York. It also received an Honorable Mention in the 1999 Manhattan Arts International 8th Annual Arts competition. I won a Purchase Award at the 2000 Mulberry Festival in Collierville. The award was in the form of a commission to create a bronze for Commissioner Tommy Hart. It was unveiled in October 2002 at the official opening of the Mulberry Gallery where it is a part of the permanent exhibit for the City of Collierville. My pieces are in private collections in the U.S., England, The Bahamas and Luxembourg.

In October 2002, I responded to a call for artist by Raw Art of Denver, Colorado. They were seeking a maximum of 20 artists nationwide to be included in a program that focused on new and emerging artists. The concept is to expose the selected artist on a national level.

Of over two hundred artists that responded to the Call for Entries, I was one of five selected to take part in the program. The inaugural show opened at the Andenken Gallery in Denver on January 9, 2003. Out of over two hundred and seventy works submitted for inclusion in the Inaugural National Exhibition (INE) of the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, my piece “P” is for Pregnant was chosen as one of the seventy retained for inclusion in the exhibit.

Over the past five years I have participated in various juried exhibitions in the Memphis area as a member of the Memphis Germantown Art League and Artists Link. I have exhibited at the Crescent Center in Germantown, The Painted Planet Art Space, The Gallery Upstairs and Jewish Community Center. My Bronze and Clay works and my works in progress can be viewed at the sites below:

http://photos.yahoo.com/rawartpatrina
www.mindsinland.com/member/yodi