Valerie Ostenak
Phoenix, AZ
Transformation and the Energy within . . . My art is about inviting the richness of Possibility to others' lives.
MessageValerie Ostenak, a painter and a sculptor, was one of the few women to take up blacksmithing in 1982. Forged steel became the focus of her signature flowing sculptures and art jewelry. Her intuitive atmospheric paintings feature metal leaf, adding strength to the ethereal emotions being conveyed with paint. Published in art jewelry and blacksmithing books, interviewed by National Geographic, Ostenak has taught metalsmithing workshops at universities and associations nationwide.
Select honors: Saul Bell Jewelry Design Award Finalist–Alternative Materials; Artistar Jewels Exhibition, Milan Fashion Week, Italy; Centurion Luxury Jewelry Show–Emerging Designer Award; Halstead Jewelry Design/Business Development Grant.
Consecutively her professional design career of 30 years centered on publication design and production, as well as illustration, in the aerospace, textbook, magazine, and newspaper industries.
On a more personal note . . . Valerie loves motorcycles, gorgeous cars, sci-fi, and chooses her hotels based on the perfect swimming pool.
EVENTS/AWARDS
• Selected for the 2022 Flag Project at Rockefeller Center by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Climate Museum in NYC
• Invited by British automaker Rolls-Royce to co-brand and exhibit my sculptural art jewelry at their North American Rolls-Royce Owners Club Annual Meet in Lake Tahoe CA; featured in exclusive luxury-content book distributed only to RR owners internationally
• Purchase Award, Arizona Citizens for the Arts: painting presented as an award for a category winner of the 38th Annual Governor’s Art Awards
• Saul Bell Design Award, Finalist: Alternative Metals/Materials category, sculptural art jewelry
• Emerging Designer Award: chosen as one of six from an international field by Centurion Jewelry Show, an invitation-only show for luxury jewelers and retailers
• Grand Prize Winner Halstead Jewelry Design & Business Development Grant
• National Geographic: featured for Artist Appreciation Month (Twice in two years)
• National Geographic: Interviewed for their education website
• Invited by the National Jewelry Institute to Designer Showcase during Paris Fashion Week, France
• LA Style Fashion Week, presented jewelry collections on the runways
• Phoenix Fashion Week, presented jewelry collections on the fashion runways (2 years)
• Invited speaker at The Art Institute of Phoenix in the Fashion Accessories courses
• Demonstrator/lecturer on blacksmithing and copper forging:Guild of Metalsmiths, MN
• Demonstrator & lecturer on non-ferrous forging: ASU, Tempe AZ
• Demonstrator/lecturer on blacksmithing: ASU, Tempe AZ
• Demonstrator/lecturer on metalsmithing:Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff AZ
• Jewelry Trunk Show, Big Brothers Big Sisters Annual Gala, Dallas TX
• Designed/built/installed a hand-forged decorative steel railing at the Grand Canyon Mather Point Amphitheater (a three-person team)
Statement
STATEMENT OF WORK:
I am a multidisciplinary artist who, depending on the concept I'm presenting, works either as a metalsmith or a painter. My art is about transformation and the energy within, its effect on us and the power we have to affect it. I am interested in positive transformation whether physical, psychological, or philosophical. I am intrigued by the energy that it holds, requires, and releases.
Working in metal I can show the physical interpretation of movement and change. I can forge the steel and silver to appear as though it is flowing like water or growing vines, or to be soft and delicate like fabric. Changing the perception of metal from rigid to fluid. In doing so, it is getting people to change their thoughts of what they are seeing and experiencing around them.
Painting allows me to escape the physical and explore the emotions and feelings of transformation. My paintings are abstract impressionism in an atmospheric, dreamy style rich in color and often with high contrast between darks and lights. Purposely meant to stir emotions and feelings instead of being anchored with a visually recognizable object.
In my search for contentment and soul’s peace, I am walking a path of creative exploration observing physical transformations in the natural world, along with the emotions and feelings that those changes bring to the surface. The pieces I create speak to hope, change and becoming better, weathering the storms and learning to swim within the chaos. With my art I offer an accessible vehicle for others to reflect on, to contemplate the beauty in transformation and change. I am inviting the richness of Possibility to their lives, that they may start dialogues to effect positive changes in their communities
INSPIRATION
I am visually inspired by the rich colors of oceans, forests, and flowers; by the perfect curve in the shape of a wave; the winding tendrils of vines and how they connect to everything around them. I am intrigued by Space visually and metaphorically. Images from the Hubble telescope utilizing UV and IR filters show us billions of galaxies and richly colored nebulae. Though separated by incomprehensible distances, they are the light within the darkness.
For an exhibition record and list of publications, please see the CV.
All Artworks and Rights Reserved: ©️Valerie Ostenak
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