Bio and Artist Statement
I spent much of my adult life in and out of psychiatric hospitals and did not become an artist until I was 55, when a voice inside my head woke me, insisting, “you have to build a human, you have to build a human.” Seeing no harm in this, since the bad voices had always been outside my head, I set to work with flour and water and scrap cardboard and paper, and in three months created a life-size woman seated in a chair.
“Decorated Betsy”, as I called the sculpture, won a prize and was purchased soon thereafter by an art collector. Since that day in late 2007, I have scarcely let a day go by without making art of some kind.
Although I paint and draw as well, I try to use recycled items when I create my 3D art. You will frequently see mint tins and old boxes, used eyeglasses cases, papier mâché and gourds transformed into objets d’art. My paint might be acrylic but it might also be nail polish or even tiny beads, each implanted into a layer of wax by means of a needle, one by one by one by one.
I do pet portraits and house portraits on commission. Please contact me at phoebesparrowwagner@gmail.com if interested.
