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BIOGRAPHY
SERENA
KOVALOSKY
Serena Kovalosky was inspired to work with organic forms and materials
after seeing a collection of lacquered and finely carved gourd pottery
from Olina, Mexico. “I was inexplicably drawn to these primal forms,”
says Kovalosky, who soon began growing her own gourds and exploring the
medium literally “from the ground up”. This sparked an interest in
discovering other forms of traditional and tribal art, as Kovalosky
expanded her research over the next ten years.
The artist then began exploring native traditions of mask-making through
a series of bodycast studies, eventually incorporating them into
installations that were exhibited at the
International
Festival for Humanity at McGill University in Montreal. Her
bodycast work was also the subject of a documentary on Canada's Life
Channel and Quebec's Canal Vie.
An old book on “wildcrafting” led Kovalosky to discover a Victorian
recipe for making scented beads from rose petals, which inspired her to
create a unique line of rosebead jewelry. Researching the legends behind
the craft, Kovalosky also developed a lecture series entitled, “Rose
Stories” that accompanied her exhibitions, and was invited to
present at the Schenectady Chapter of the American Rose Society.
During her years of living in
Canada, Kovalosky became fascinated by Native American traditions, and
began practicing the art of weaving dreamcatchers from traditional
materials, which later evolved into a unique series of gilded pysanky
eggs, merging a tribal art form with traditional folk art.
A return to upstate New York provided Kovalosky with the opportunity to
work with local Adirondack clay, testing recipes by researching pottery
shards left by Algonquin tribes along the shores of Lake Champlain. She
perfected a version of the famous “Albany slip” that is coveted as a
glaze in ceramic artwork.
After over a decade of research and exploration, Serena Kovalosky's
initial passion for working with gourds resurfaced and her current
portfolio reflects her new style of working with gourds from a
sculptural perspective, rather than simply treating the surface as a
“canvas”. Her carved forms and pyroengraved designs are intentionally
raw and organic, and the finished piece is brought into the contemporary
realm through the use of gold leaf, as well as copper and metal alloys.
Although she still grows many of the gourds herself, Kovalosky mostly
uses organic, thick-shelled gourds that are shipped to her studio from
southern California. Archival dyes, premium wood stains and varnishes,
and gilding materials used by top professionals insure a finished piece
of superior durability.
Serena Kovalosky has studied
privately with professional artists and craftspersons in London and
Montreal. The artist's work is exhibited in galleries and shows
throughout the northeast U.S. and Canada.
Her philosophy and work style have been the subject of television
documentaries and numerous newspaper articles and her
.JPG) current
gourdwork has been commissioned by the New York Farm Bureau
for an Agriculture to Art exhibit at The Egg Performing Art
Center in Albany, NY.
Kovalosky is the co-founder of
Open Studios of Washington County, NY,
which features some of the finest artists in the region. She also
founded
Creative Warriors, a goal-oriented
co-mentoring project for emerging artists and writers.
Serena Kovalosky currently creates from her studio in Whitehall, New
York. Her work may be purchased in
galleries and at
exhibitions. |
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