Holly Crocker Garcia | Figurative sculptor

Holly Crocker Garcia explored different art forms including music, ballet, drawing, photography, book illustration and sculpture.

However, after a course in sculpting technique at Silvermine Guild School of the Arts in New Canaan, Connecticut, she realized that sculpting was her primary love and subsequently attended Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island.

Searching for a mentor and further education in sculpture, Holly then moved from the East Coast to San Diego, California where she met the late figurative sculptor, Frank James Morgan.

Working in Morgan’s studio as an apprentice for five years, she developed the skills of clay modeling, mold-making and casting and began selling her pieces in local galleries.

Relocation to San Francisco brought further gallery sales, shows and commissions.

Now living in Maryland, Holly works out of her home studio and has her pieces cast in a Pennsylvania foundry.

Although sculpting is her profession, Holly has always had a deep love and appreciation for the ballet. As a young girl she studied at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York and at two Connecticut ballet academies.

While in California she created a series of bronzes featuring members of the Oakland Ballet and later completed “Paloma As Kitri", a dramatic portrait of Paloma Herrera, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre in New York City. Petra Conti of Boston Ballet was Holly's next model as "Swan Queen" from the ballet Swan Lake.

“To me, ballet in performance is an art form which is incredibly rich in beauty and emotion, all expressed through the exquisite line of the human body. It is also a very fleeting, ethereal experience which one can take away only in the mind’s eye.

Through sculpting dancers, I try to capture permanently the moving, visual experience of the ballet. The element of music is also very important in my ballet sculpture and each of these pieces has been inspired by a particular piece of music as well as by the dancer’s character”, Holly explained.

Holly expressed the diversity of her sculpture by adding, “In contrast to the energy and grace transmitted through dance pieces, I also sculpt classic figures in more quiet, introspective attitudes. After working intensely on a dance piece, I am ready for a restful figure study - and then again for the fluidity of the ballet. It seems to be a very natural ebb and flow for me”.

Holly Crocker Garcia ha esplorato molte diverse forme d'arte tra cui musica, balletto, disegno, fotografia, illustrazione di libri e scultura. Tuttavia, dopo un corso di tecnica scultorea alla Silvermine Guild School of the Arts di New Canaan, nel Connecticut, si rese conto che la scultura era il suo principale amore e successivamente frequentò la Rhode Island School of Design di Providence, nel Rhode Island.

Alla ricerca di un mentore e di ulteriori studi in scultura, Holly si trasferì quindi dalla East Coast a San Diego, in California, dove conobbe il defunto scultore figurativo Frank James Morgan.

Lavorando nello studio di Morgan come apprendista per cinque anni, ha sviluppato le capacità di modellare, modellare e fondere l'argilla e ha iniziato a vendere i suoi pezzi nelle gallerie locali.

Il trasferimento a San Francisco ha portato ulteriori vendite in galleria, spettacoli e commissioni.

Ora vive nel Maryland, Holly lavora fuori dal suo studio di casa e ha i suoi pezzi scelti in una fonderia della Pennsylvania.

Sebbene scolpire sia la sua professione, Holly ha sempre avuto un profondo amore e apprezzamento per il balletto. Da ragazza ha studiato alla Joffrey Ballet School di New York e in due accademie di balletto del Connecticut.

Mentre in California ha creato una serie di bronzi con membri dell'Oakland Ballet e successivamente completato "Paloma As Kitri", un drammatico ritratto di Paloma Herrera, primo ballerino dell'American Ballet Theatre a New York City.

Petra Conti del Boston Ballet è stato il prossimo modella di Holly per "Swan Queen" dal balletto Swan Lake.