Artist One: Barbara Stanczak

Barbara Stanczak is a German-American artist who focuses mainly on sculptures.  She works with both wood and stone to make her sculptures, which express the beauty and wonder of the earth.  Stanczak feels that by opening up the wood or stone she is revealing their secrets to the world.  Her idea for each piece is that the viewer can look at, touch and interact with a common material in a new way.  She uses the veins and textures of her materials to inspire her work.  Because of the natural feel of the materials, she wants to use the natural elements of her materials to bring the glory of nature to a world that is becoming less familiar with the beauty of nature.

Being interested in wooden sculpture I found Barbara Stanczak’s work to be very fascinating.  All of her pieces are carved and polished wood or stone.  Although I am not interested in carving wood, I am interested in trying to bring in a natural feel to the harsh world of sculpture.  I also like the idea of creating work that people can touch rather than just having to look at from behind a piece of glass.  Stanczak  creates work with the viewer in mind, making textures that invite and beg the viewer to run their hand over and touch.  Here is a link to her work Barbara Stanczak.