Check out Renata Pugh’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Renata Pugh.

Renata, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I started drawing at a very young age and my parents took me to art museums too, so looking at a lot of art early on helped ingrain in me a strong sense of balance, color, and composition. After high school I attended School of Visual Arts in NYC, studied Illustration and graduated with a BFA in 2004. I always had a knack for drawing people in all sorts of styles; realistic, surrealist, cartoonish, etc. Drawing someone’s portrait is still one of my favorite things to do because I can get a real sense of who they are deep down and what they’ve been through, although I’d never be able to describe it in words.

Since I enjoyed drawing people so much and loved reading, I figured it was only natural to make illustration my career. However, looking back on it now, I realize that I kept getting distracted with learning different mediums and techniques such as watercolors and printmaking, and in order to be a successful illustrator, you usually just have to stick to one, maybe two mediums (if they’re similar enough in nature) and develop a strong consistent portfolio. Instead of doing that, I went into the field of sculpture restoration/conservation, and pretty soon I naturally began experimenting with making 3-dimensional artwork. Eventually in my late twenties I took metalworking/welding classes at the Art Students League of NY and made metal sculptures based on my abstract drawings. Around the same time a friend introduced me to the craft of stained glass using the Tiffany copper foil method, and this has been my main medium of choice ever since.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Even though I still love to draw, most of my energy and focus these days goes into developing my work in glass. For me, the vibrancy and spectacular nature of color is unmatched in any other medium, and to see the different shades of colors and patterns that are cast on the wall when light shines through, fills me with immense joy and awe, and I enjoy sharing those feelings with others. Also, there’s such a variety of textures in the stained glass I use, so that even when there’s no light shining through, it’s still captivating in a different way.

The majority of work that you see out there in this medium is usually representative in nature, usually church windows depicting a biblical scene, plaques depicting animals and landscapes, or Tiffany-style lamp shades which feature flowers and dragonflies in the design. While I admire a lot of work done in these traditional themes, I’ve set out to make creations that are abstract in nature and reflect my drawings in a 3-dimensional manner. I want to show off the beauty of the glass itself, and the way the pieces are decoratively soldered together gives the work an organic sort of feel; cooled, molten metal “stitches” that flow like silver lava between and around the edges. Added to that are agates, crystals, and other natural elements that further enhance this natural quality as well and make each piece stand out in a unique way.

Have things improved for artists? What should cities do to empower artists?
I think it’s difficult to be prolific and develop a strong, consistent body of work without a big grant or regular sales to keep an artist afloat financially, and it’s a conundrum because without the former, you won’t receive the latter. If you have a part-time job and enough self-discipline and focus though it pays off. Also, now more than ever, marketing skills are extremely important for success, and most artists find it unnatural to advertise themselves. I’ve struggled with this myself but have gradually gotten better at it over the years.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
My glass work can be seen in Markay Gallery in Marietta Square, on Instagram, and online at ars-lumina.com. I have a large aluminum sculpture entitled “Coalescence” that is permanently on display at Rockland Community College Campus in NY, and another website, renatapughart.com, which features my work in other mediums.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ars-lumina.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renata672/ https://www.instagram.com/arslumina/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Renata-Pugh-484649418224646/ https://www.facebook.com/Ars-Lumina-140099246084157/
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArsLumina

Image Credit:
All pictures were taken by me.

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