Artist Statement
Pushing into the unknown is part of human nature. Unknown lands, unknown science, unknown art. I am constantly pushing the tools and materials I work with and my skills as a craftsman to the edge of what is possible, reaching the unknown regions of art. My current work has three distinct groupings: The Wind Series, Four Moirai Form the Circle, and Carnivore.
            First is my Wind Series, sculptures that suggest the force of strong wind drag on a shifting object. They each have a wire structure with copper and brass details, and most have a core of poured concrete that keeps them anchored. In 2009 I started the series after learning jewelry soldering techniques that allowed me to work with stainless steel wire in a new way. I have continued expanding the series, both adding new sculptures to it and using the existing ones as models for larger sculptures.
            The second is a circular tetraptych called Four Moirai Form the Circle. Just as there are four stages to the circle of life: Birth, Life, Death, and Renew, there are four sections to this circular sculpture based on the Greek myth of the Moirai: Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos, and Efforos. The original myth with the three Moirai spinning, measuring, and cutting the thread, is too linier. Life is not a straight line, it is the circle of life, so I created Efforos to complete the circle.
            The third is a large cast iron and steel sculpture called Carnovore. I fabricated it by cutting, bending, and welding together wheels from horse drawn farm equipment I excavated from the hedgerow near my house. The artwork statement for this sculpture is as follows: It has been eaten, it wants to eat. Vertebrae and ribs, the remains of an animal that was preyed upon. A carnivorous plant waiting to eat an insect. The keel and ribs of a wrecked vessel, eaten by a storm at sea or in space.
With The Wind Series and the rest of my work, I hope to enhance the richness of our life experience.
Artist CV
  1. EDUCATION
  3. 2013     Computer Integrated Machining, Durham Tech. Durham, NC
  4. 2010     Level 1 Class, Yesteryear School of Blacksmithing, Amelia, VA
  5. 2009    Welding Technology, Alamance Community College, Graham, NC
  6. 2008    Beginning Jewelry, Fall Concentration, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
  8.  
  9. SOLO AND DUO EXHIBITIONS
January 9th - February 20th 2026     The Wind Circles a Carnivore, 4 Elements Studio, Utica, NY
      2022     Abstractions of Nature, Kirkland Art Center, Clinton, NY
  1. 2019    Forces of Nature/Tensions of Man, Earlville Opera House Galleries, Earlville, NY
  3.  
  4. GROUP SHOWS
     2024     Small Works, Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs, NY
  1. 2023     Sprawling Visions, Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs, NY
  2.             Metal, The Smithy Gallery, Cooperstown, NY
  3.             Cherry Valley Summer Sculpture Trail, Cherry Valley, NY
  4.             Behind the Trail, 25 Main Collective, Cherry Valley, NY
  6. 2022    National Exhibition of the Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, NY
  7.             Flowers, Trees & Roots: The Wild World of Plants, View Arts, Old Forge, NY
  8.             50th Anniversary Retrospective Exhibit, Earlville Opera House Galleries, Earlville, NY
  9.  
  10. 2021     Cherry Valley Summer Sculpture Trail, Cherry Valley, NY
  11.             The Art of New York, The Arkell Museum, Canajoharie, NY
  12.             Adrift, Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs, NY
  13.            
  14. 2020    Bloom & Grow: brilliant botanicals, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, Solomons, MD
  15.             The Cup, The Mug, Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs, NY
  16.             Sidewalk Art Show, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY
  17.            
  18. 2019     Discovery: Emerging Artists 2019, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, Cazenovia, NY
  19.             Small Works 2019, Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs, NY
  20.             When Darkness Falls, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, Solomons, MD
  21.             Dare Small, The Cluster Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
  23.  
  24. RECOGNITIONS
  26. 2021     Award of Excellence, The Arkell Museum, Canajoharie, NY
  27. 2020    Juror's award, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, Solomons, MD
  29.  
  30. PUBLICATIONS
  32. 2010    60 Wrd/Min Art Critic, Lori Waxman, Durham, NC                                                                          www.60wrdmin.org/artwork/1459506_Collin_Blackmore.html

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