Maria J. Kirby-Smith is primarily a figurative portrait sculptor, medallic to greater than life size, working in the lost wax method. Her goal is to capture the person's corporeal and intangible attributes - nuances of character and metaphysical traits. Smaller pieces are whimiscal, mythic-Greco Roman, anthropomorphic critters, and portraits that reveal more than the physical geography.
Artist Statement:
I moved to the countryside so all can have paw, elbow room. The studio is monitored by three cats. Photo: Sculptor with bodyguard Thrift Mae Pearl.
Unfortunately my dear sweet body guard Thrift departed on November 10, 2018.
I collect cat whiskers and thrive on dark chocolate. The most casual decisions and feather weight circumstances change our lives. A spontaneous detour from the interstate to view bronzes in the collection of an eccentric cousin in Blacksburg became an ephiphany. I longed to delineate the human form and forgot the stylistic differences of the hook motif of early to late Chou Dynasty bronzes.
Contact information only for persons interested in purchasing a sculpture for sale: Cell Phone 803/312-4527
or email: mollyks@bellsouth.net.
L'ENVOI
"When Earth's last picture is painted, and the tubes are twisted and dried,
When the oldest colors have faded, and the youngest critic has died,
And only the Master shall praise us, and only the Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame;
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They Are!"
Rudyard Kipling