Sandy Graves

Born in Denver, Colorado, and growing up in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Sandy first displayed her work at the county fairs as a 4-H member. As she continued her education, mostly at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, she worked in many different mediums.  Sculpture was always a favorite and came naturally to her. Sandy sees bronze sculpture as being a friendly and beautiful medium.  She enjoys watching the public interact with art.  In sculpture, viewers can walk around it, touch it, and become part of the artistic expression in a very personal way. After graduating from CSU in 1993 with a degree in fine arts and a concentration in sculpture, Sandy began work as a high school art teacher in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She continued in that field for 16 years while also doing her own work mostly for herself. Sandy chose art education as an occupation because she loves interacting with people and for the same reason, focused on the figure as her sculptural subject. "The figure is special because people react to it in such an instantaneous and personal way. I hope to remind viewers of special moments and memories of our human experience. Recently, I have been working in the abstract with horses being the subject. It is a familiar subject for me as I owned and rode horses as a young girl." In 1999 Sandy cast and sold her first Bronze. Since then, she has continued to work in the medium realistically and abstractly. Sandy has been awarded and has completed private and public commissions. A few examples of commissioned work are: a portrait of the founder of the Lowell Whiteman School, a life-size student for the Scottsbluff Public School Foundation in Scottsbluff NE, multiple high-relief wall hangings, a life-size bronze of three children playing created for the Steamboat Springs Chamber. "I enjoy the interaction with the individuals commissioning the work as we communicate to plan and build the visual and tactile form that expresses their individual sentiments."