Corrales artists open studios to public for annual tour
Corrales artists open studios to public for annual tour
Corrales artists and craftspeople will be opening their doors to the public during the Corrales Art and Studio Tour.
The tour, which features works by 79 artists at 34 locations throughout Corrales, will be held on Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6.
A sample of work by each participant will be available for viewing from 1 to 4 p.m. today at the Preview Gallery in the historic Casa Vieja Event Center. The event showcases fine art and crafted works for every taste and budget. Works include watercolors, oils, acrylics, photography and prints, as well as clay, fiber, glass and metal, according to an event press release.
Corrales Society of Artists board member Glenn Smith will be showing about 40 of his metal sculptures during the event. He has been creating metal sculptures for about five years, and this is his fourth time participating in the event.
“This whole thing started because we have a big backyard and I wanted to put some metal art in it,” he said. “And there’s this guy that stands out on the corner of Ellison and Alameda with a trailer full of metal art, and I thought, ‘Well, let’s just stop in and see what he’s got.’ So I bought a dog from him. When I saw it, it was kind of quirky and cool. And I got it home and said, ‘You know, I can do better than this.’”
Now Smith creates metal sculptures that range from as small as 3 feet wide by 3 feet tall by maybe 6-inches deep to a 15-foottall light post.
“I’m an engineer, and I kind of think geometrically, and you know my engineering background kind of comes into play somewhat,” he said. “… I taught myself composition and the concepts of positive and negative space and the feeling of dynamism in an image or sculpture. Physical balance and dynamic balance, you know, that kind of stuff. So it’s all there: It’s a little bit of composition, it’s a little bit of engineering, it’s a little bit of geometry and a little bit of luck.”
Smith works primarily in steel and stainless steel, which he said is tough to work with due to its “fussy” thermal properties and its tendency to warp.
“And that’s one of the things about this whole thing is you can’t rush through it to get it done,” he said. “Getting it done is not the objective. The joy is in the journey of the process of working the metal and working with it, not having it work against you or you work against it. When you’re working that way, things go a lot more smoothly and they’re more enjoyable.”
When Smith first signed up to be part of the Corrales Art and Studio Tour he was “amazed” people bought his art.
“It’s so flattering and I’m so honored when someone looks at something enough to say, ‘I want this in my yard so I can look at it every day,’” he said. “I am getting a little more used to it now, but I am still honored beyond speech.”