Sitting Pretty — amber geneva

“Is there a more mysterious idea for the artist than the conception of how nature may be mirrored in the eye of the animal? How does a horse see the world, how does an eagle, a deer or a dog? How poor and how soulless is our convention of placing animals in a landscape familiar to our own eyes rather than transporting ourselves into the soul of the animal in order to imagine his perception? ”

— Franz Marc

Bio

Amber Geneva is an artist and art teacher in Vermont. She received her BFA at the School of the Art Institute, Chicago in 1999 where she gained a passion for working in large scale steel sculpture. Her curiosity about the range of materials available for sculpture caused her to pursue diverse fields that feed her professional development and her application of technical knowledge.

After graduation Amber worked in the Mystic Valley Foundry, Somerville, MA, casting aluminum and bronze for art and industry. Following her interest in materials she learned fine woodworking and fiberglass construction by building yachts, then moved to New Hampshire and worked independently as a faux finisher developing an extensive understanding of surface treatments. In 2007 Amber was invited to apply to Creare LLC to assist in making precision components for the Mars mission. Amber refined the surfaces of microscopic components to ensure their physical stability during spaceflight. Clearly Amber’s fascination is to try new materials in new ways because then she can learn what works.

As an artist Amber is drawn to the minute subtleties of expression in human body language. Upon acquiring a dog she embarked on a three year study of canine ethology with Dee Ganley in Andover NH. This intensive study of animal body language led to her current exploration in large-scale sculptures. Her arts practice uses welded steel and Pal Tiya Premium, a unique sculpting cement, to create chimerical animal sculptures for outdoor installation. Her sculptures reflect her curiosity about how we interpret and react to animals, and how we might adapt our perceptions about the experience of a non-human. As an independent art teacher Amber considers it her mission to ensure that everyone who wants to make sculpture can, at any scale and for any environment.