As the winner of the 2019 Mel Strawn Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts, Bernice still works from her home studio in Salida, CO. Here's what she shared:
I like to construct sculptures from old and found metal objects. The old wood may have been a tool or piece of furniture suggesting a story of a life. Mel and I have lived in Salida since 1988 when we moved into our current home which we saw advertised in the Mountain Mail when we were still living in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Mel's jobs made for a stimulating environment for my own art teaching and production of art education videos for public schools in Colorado. My background is mainly in contemporary painting but my interest in shapes and color became the basis of the sculptural constructions I''ve made over 60 years and which I still exhibit locally. One installation is hung high over the reception area in the HRRMC main building (just look up).
You can see Bernice's work at CultureClash Gallery 101 N F St
Salida, CO 81201 and in permanent displays at Heart of the Rockies Medical Center, Salida SteamPlant and at the SteamPlant Sculpture Garden.