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Comentario
The art of four
Costa Rican Woomen Sculptors. Summer, 2006.
Sculptural Pursuit
SUSANA MEOÑO
Poetic Expressions in Wood and Stone
MANY WORDS CAN DESCRIBE SCULPTOR SUSANA MEOÑO. They
include single mother, art teacher, professional
sculptor, interpreter, friend, and enthusiastic
artist. All of her life she dreamed about becoming
an artist. When she was a teenager she filled
notebooks with drawings of the ideas that poured
from her imagination. Her family, grandparents and
parents, encouraged her creative gifts, but she
chose to follow a more traditional career path.
Later she decided to return to the arts and now
pursues her career vigorously. After observing her
at The Artists Refuge studio and later as the only
woman in a wood carving symposium, it is obvious
that she has found her true career path. Meoño
approaches her sculpting projects with a positive
aggression showing her mastery of the tools, large
grinders and saws, and her love of the material,
whether it is wood or stone. She shares the path she
took to find her art career and her approach to the
sculpting process.
SP: What led you to become a sculptor?
SM: At first I was afraid to study art so, when I
finished my career studies, I worked as an
accounting assistant. I realized that my life was
empty without my art, so I quit my job and my career
choice. I entered the National University of Art to
start my dream of becoming an artist, but two years
later I was pregnant. With the help and
encouragement of family members, I did not quit my
studies at the university, and I kept up my studies
even after my daughter was born. She learned how to
walk and how to talk in the classrooms. I graduated,
and from that time until now, I live for the arts,
not only as sculptor but as an art teacher.
SP: Would you talk about your materials and your
approach to a project?
SM: I always select a theme for my projects, then I
investigate and convert my research into sketches.
When those images are decided and depending on my
theme and my sketches, I choose texture, color,
techniques, and materials. Technically, I prefer
working wood and stone, especially stone.
I have to admit that sometimes I carve spontaneously
without a sketch based on my investigations but from
my imagination.
SP: What is the most important characteristic of
your art?
SM: Organic forms, abstraction, and a metamorphosis
of the human being and nature, or a symbiosis
between one and another.
Meoño's stone sculptures balance raw edges with
polished surfaces. Her wood sculptures follow the
natural wood shapes and under her hands and tools
evolve into a poetic flow of organic shapes. Whether
she is working on small branches of wood or on large
life-size trunks, her sculptures entices the viewer
to run its hands over the smooth surface of the
large works and their fingers over the small
delicate works balanced atop their high metal rods.
SP: What challenges do you deal with as woman artist
and as a single mother?
SM: Since I was at the university, my challenge was
finding how to maintain a balance between being a
great mother and a great artist. Concerning the
economical terms, how do I finance my art (materials,
tools) and a keep a balanced life for my daughter? I
want to give her an appreciation of art and music. I
would like to have her take violin lessons. That
will mean finding the finances to do so. Again, it
is about finding the balance.
SP: How do you keep motivated when things get tough
in the studio or in your every day life?
SM: God, my mother, and my determination keep me
motivated when things get tough.
SP: What gives you the most pleasure about your work?
SM: My pleasure indeed comes from my passion, when I
am actually carving and when presenting the finished
work. When I carve I feel myself being completed in
the process. Every single piece of art I work has
serious obstacles in all of its aspects that
challenge me. I like the challenges presented to me
while carving and when finishing the work; these are
part of the ongoing learning process.
SP: As an art teacher, what is your particular
approach to teaching?
SM: I like to open a new world, a new perspective to
my students, a culture they can learn to enjoy. I
want to help them find their passion for the arts.
My goal is to encourage my students to gain self
confidence while learning art.
SP: How do you deal with the business aspect of art?
SM: I try not to commercialize my work. I want to
maintain my style. Because I make a living as a
teacher, I have the privilege to make that choice.
SP: Who or what has been a main influence on your
work?
SM: The main influences on my work have been Cubism,
Japanese art, sculptor Donald Jiménez's art, nature,
and my environment where I developed.
SP: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
SM: I see myself carving abroad, in Europe, and I
want to encourage mega art projects for teenagers.
Quepos, una
Historia en piedra
Quepos.
Puntarenas Noviembre . 2007 |
