ARTIST BIO

Sandy Frank has shown nationally and internationally for over 30 years. Frank holds a BA from The Academy of Art in Illustration and a BFA from the University of San Francisco. Starting out as an illustrator she turned to sculpture when pursuing fine art after her daughter was born. She has taken workshops from master sculptors including Manuel Neri, and Peter Rubino and has been a part of the San Francisco Sculpture Co-Op and The Nicasio Sculpture Group in Marin. She has taught art to all ages over the last 30 years at home and abroad. She has taught Anatomy at  Academy of ArUniversity and currently runs drawing and sculpture workshops in Sonoma County and takes on private students in her studio. 

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

 

Sandy Frank’s evocative figural clay sculptures capture not only the external physical

manifestation and traits of what she is depicting, but they also capture the internal, spiritual and psychological physiognomies of her subject. They breathe for us. She uses her medium, the

age old process of shaping clay, to ground herself so that she can connect a modern

consciousness to an ancient one. Clay is luscious and sensuous. Frank fell in love with clay 30

years ago while living for a time on the Caribbean island of Grenada. She worked with local

artisans. There she learned from them. She went with them to dig up the clay, process it to

create a workable medium and then worked with them to create and develop saleable art

items.

 

Whether holding on, letting go or a simple gesture of support, the work is deliberate and

intentional. Frank has spent 10 years exclusively perfecting her technique in clay. She spends a

lot of time with each piece to make each sculpture energetically and anatomically breathe and

feel alive. She sculpts using live models and builds hollow with limited armature if any.

Perfecting technique constantly, she works with a variety of clay bodies and finishing techniques

to get her desired effect. For instance, the white finish of Child Support reinforces the idea of

purity while the dark grey, of Holding On, enhances the feel of a life lived that is worth clinging

onto.

 

Clay is flexible in creating from life and imagination and Frank excels at combining both in a

believable way. She seeks to create beauty in her work but with some intrigue so that people

will look and see something and wonder about it and then look again.