Sculptor of horses and other sporting animals - Stay tuned! Follow the Evolution of Tammy Bality’s Sculptures Through a New Journey

Collectors of my pieces may begin to notice some changes around the website and in the Tammy Bality Galleries in the near future.

Average rating   You must login to vote

As I delve deeper into my career as a sculptor, I am finding myself drawn to new media, new subjects and new adventures.

My Raku and fired clay work is evolving from a “fine craft” to a “fine art,” a journey I hope you will take with me.

I still enjoy working with water-based clays that can be Raku fired or high fired, and intend to continue sculpting in them. I will just be taking my work in those media to a higher level and pushing the limits of working with them.

Clay Lent Itself to Form and Functionality

While my first sculpture was a carousel horse cast in bronze, I quickly realized how time-consuming and expensive working with bronze could be. I loved the result, but it was too costly in time and money at the time, preventing me from building my portfolio of pieces further.

To be a distinguished sculptor, you need to have a sizeable body of work to show and sell. That is where I’ve benefited from working with fired clay. I can work quickly with clay and have been able to make hundreds of pieces in this medium.

Making the Transition to Other Media

My vast experience with clay has been an educational endeavor. I have experimented with new techniques, learned and perfected the anatomy of my subjects, and worked out ideas and skills that might not have been as easily pliable in another medium. These lessons have translated well into working in bronze.

In my new work, I am focusing on taking my art to a new level of quality fit for museums. My emphasis on horses and other sporting animals will remain; they will just be of a finer quality. Many will be cast in bronze or crystal, and lacking the fur and hair accents that categorized them more as a craft in the past.

Finding the Spirit of the Artist in Celtic Artwork & The Spirit of Women

This new phase in my career is representative of my path as an artist. I have always thought my artistic journey was similar to Celtic knotwork, which has no beginning and no end; it curves, circles and entwines.

That is how I work, in terms of the media and my ideas. I am not an artist that went from “Point A” to “Point B” in my learning process. In retrospect, I feel the creative process has been as much about finding myself, as it has been about learning the techniques of sculpting.

I work with what I know and love as a part of my life. I have always had an affinity for animals and I am close to them, which is why I have spent so much time focused on horses and other animals of the West. The connection I feel with animals sparked my creative process to sculpt my series of animal totem sculptures that are part animal and part person, such as The Spirit of Women.

The Spirit of Women and my other Celtic pieces seemed like a natural way of expressing my Druid and Viking ancestry. I feel complete in my work with those sculptures at this point. There is nothing more I want to pursue in that arena right now, so I am closing that chapter and moving forward.

Taking a Journey with the Subjects

Throughout my evolution as an artist, I have had consistent travel partners in my Journey Ponies and High Plains Horses. They have always been hugely popular and have taught me a lot about my art and myself. Journey Ponies and High Plains Horses always sense change early, and are great guides through periods of transition. I intend to continue my journey with them, elevating them to a higher level of quality into the realm of fine art.

As I always have, I am now following where my artwork takes me: narrowing myself down, refining my talents and working on what energizes me. The growth process as an artist has always come naturally for me, and I am excited about the journey I am taking as I learn to express myself differently. I work with what resonates with me, and I hope that it will continue to resonate with you as well.

Interested in a piece for your collection?

The sculptures that have guided me along my journey as an artist would make a great addition to your collections. Please contact my galleries for more information: Tammy Bality Galleries.