May 2024 News
MAY DAYS at
On The Edge Gallery
The Emerging Artist Program has officially launched, and we are currently reviewing artist portfolios for acceptance into this exciting new program.
This month, we are Featuring Artwork by Jerilyn Alderman, Gabriel Ayala, Kim Heath, Rick Griggs, Chris Heede, Eric Hultquist, Robin Ray, Rich Roberts, Vicki Roe, and James Sagerser.
Schedule a time to visit this Month!
Featured Artists
Jerilyn Alderman
Though I’ve dabbled in stained glass and furnace-blown glass, my passion is focused on creating lampwork marbles. I currently teach at the Mesa Arts Center and sell my glass work at conventions around the country with my company FireChilde Glass Studio
Gabriel Ayala
Gabriel Ayala is starting his 22nd year as a full-time artist. He is self-taught, and sells his copper art throughout Arizona and New Mexico, through the many art shows at which he exhibits. For him, nature has laid the groundwork for his inspiration. He spent many years living on his remote property in Western New Mexico, just north of the Gila national forest. This experience filled his days with the adventures and the tribulations of high-country living.
To reduce some travel time, he now creates art from his valley home in a quiet part of northeast Mesa Arizona. The copper sculpture he is creating today consists of unique trees, vines and branches, hand tooled and fabricated from sheet copper, all without the use of complex machinery.
Native influences have inspired Gabriel Ayala’s much sought after hand hammered and tooled Sun Shields.
Rick Griggs
I combine nature (wood and stone) with my sense of architecture, style, and imagination to create each work so its natural beauty and qualities flourish. Each piece is an experience in tactile and visual beauty.
Kim Heath
Metal Sculptures
Chris Heede
Throughout the years, I have continually looked for ways to develop new and interesting ideas. Early on, my work consisted mainly of using a propane and wood combination kiln to fire bowls and platters. I later began experimenting and refining the process to produce beautiful vessels using the ancient raku Japanese firing method. I then branched out into commission work consisting of decorative sculptures, tile murals, fountains, and sandblasted glass. For the past several years, I have had the pleasure of working with clients and custom builders producing unique and dramatic architectural pieces such as bathroom sinks, kitchen countertops, ceramic columns, floor tiles, and sandblasted and painted mirrors.
Working in and being surrounded by nature is what nurtures and inspires my work. In creating ceramics, or in life itself, the dichotomy of simplicity and complexity constantly inspires and challenges. My work embraces and embodies this theme. From the raku process, to a woodfire technique, to sculpture, to architectural pieces, I strive to maintain integrity in my work and make it a beautiful and timeless expression of my life and my vision.
Eric Hultquist
I became fascinated with Functional Art. I designed some occasional tables and joined The Furniture Society. Then I began taking classes in Neon Sculpture and Structural Steel at ASU under professor James White. Jim always said: “No one starts out to be a sculptor. They try everything else and one day, they kind of fall into it,” and that’s just what happened. At the same time, I began taking classes in Structural Metal Sculpture. Shortly after I began classes, Jim picked up an acetylene torch, heated a steel rod and bent it like putty. “Steel is just like clay,” he said, “all you have to do is heat it up a little.” My jaw fell. I was hooked!
I loved working in ceramics but it had never dawned on me that steel could be turned into putty with a little heat. At that moment steel became my favorite medium. Though I took Neon Sculpture time after time over the years, nothing ever grabbed me like steel. At some point, during this time I built a lamp out of steel. Then I built another and another. Although there are similar stylistic elements in my work, each lamp is different. So, I just kept on building lamps – a fusion of light and shades!
Robin Ray
Robin Ray grew up in North Dakota with a family of interior designers. She was surrounded by textures, patterns and colors, honing her creative sensibilities, thus by high school she was selling her first paintings. On her fathers’ suggestion Robin studied art at MSU Bozeman, while taking a ceramics class she discovered the qualities and possibilities of clay. To further expand her experiences, she joined an on-ship program, to study art, dance, and religions of Africa and Asia, before enrolling at ASU to complete her degree. Robin returned to Montana, opened a gallery representing Montana artists, and developed, as well as, manufactured soft sculpture. Alas, Arizona called her back for a high school art teaching position in Cave Creek. During her career she completed a M.A. in Studio Arts, Emphasis in Ceramics from NAU. Today, working from her studio on Black Mountain, Robin continues to create in paints and ceramics. Her work is centered around universal symbols and themes. Honoring her roots, the forms are simplified, with richly textured surfaces, vibrant colors, and surprisingly whimsical elements. Robin's goal is to bring you joy and leave you smiling.
Rich Roberts
I became fascinated with Functional Art. I designed some occasional tables and joined The Furniture Society. Then I began taking classes in Neon Sculpture and Structural Steel at ASU under professor James White. Jim always said: “No one starts out to be a sculptor. They try everything else and one day, they kind of fall into it,” and that’s just what happened. At the same time, I began taking classes in Structural Metal Sculpture. Shortly after I began classes, Jim picked up an acetylene torch, heated a steel rod and bent it like putty. “Steel is just like clay,” he said, “all you have to do is heat it up a little.” My jaw fell. I was hooked!
I loved working in ceramics but it had never dawned on me that steel could be turned into putty with a little heat. At that moment steel became my favorite medium. Though I took Neon Sculpture time after time over the years, nothing ever grabbed me like steel. At some point during this time, I built a lamp out of steel. Then I built another and another. Although there are similar stylistic elements in my work, each lamp is different. So, I just kept on building lamps – a fusion of light and shades!
Vicki Roe
I've been doing art my entire life, really. My mom was a painter and locally known as the go-to person for any necessary posters or craft project work; so "stuff" was always around.I first learned to sculpt with wire in 1966, during an elementary school lesson on Calder and his work.I enjoyed the medium so much, I continued to learn different wires and techniques for my own enjoyment and special projects until 1991, when I began selling my pieces on a regular basis.
They have been featured in art and craft galleries in Denver, Boulder, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and several small cities in Ca. In 2001, I dropped out of the art market for a while; my husband and I moved to Scottsdale and I sold exclusively to previous customers and several new commissions. I am so thrilled to be involved with the On The Edge Gallery, Fountain Hills Artists Gallery, and The Clay Pigeon in Sedona, AZ.
James Sagerser
Growing up in Alaska with adventurous, supportive parents, was truly a blessing. As a homesteading family living in a one-room cabin with no electricity, a wood stove for cooking, and limited resources, creativity wasn’t only fun but necessary. It’s amazing what a person can create with a little imagination and salvaged “treasures”.
My current “artistic chapter” started as usual, in a salvage yard sifting through aluminum plating for my welding art class project. Instead, I found a barrel with short sections of multi-stranded, aluminum electrical wire. I bought a few sections, stripped off the sheathing, separated and cleaned the strands, and started crafting a few metal flower bouquets. It wasn’t long before I was back at the salvage yard searching for aluminum stock to make an armature for a model sculpture. That led to my present passion; sculpting with repurposed aluminum wire. As the only artist anywhere sculpting with “looped wire,” it’s been challenging but wonderfully rewarding.
