Paddi Moyer Studio - Desert Stone, Bronze, Sculptor, Artist

My style of work is unusual, perhaps, in part, because of being a self-taught artist. I portray a small piece of my soul with every sculpture that I create. My innate ‘gut’ feeling is my driving force. The fact that I use water-based clay to create my sculptures instead of the traditional oil based clay and armature approach immediately puts my work into somewhat of a different genre. Working with the wet and natural mud gives me the ability to work spontaneously, without planning, allowing the next ‘being’ to quickly slip out. This type of medium also gives me the ability to let the clay set up to a much harder state, allowing me to carve and sand, slowly revealing what might be an ‘old soul’ hidden within. Different clays offer different end results. Smooth and sleek would be a clay body with no grog (sand). A rougher, earthier approach would come from using clay with heavier grog, good for the carving process, as seen in my sold out piece ‘Rain’. This makes my work both unique and uncommon. Be it one of my more masculine contemporary Native American sculptures or a soft female face emerging from the shadows of the wall, there is that same unique thread of creativity that runs through my entire body of work. The Desert Stone wall sculptures are truly original, images that are a breath of fresh air for the senses.

I have participated in many classes at the prestigious Scottsdale Art School over the years having won the Frudakis Scholarship Award from this school back in 1990. I have learned much from studying such fascinating subjects as Forensics. Some of my most valuable time has been spent studying with such masters as Brunno Lucchesi (Italy and New York) and Richard MacDonald (Carmel, California). I value their work and their contribution to the art world immensely. At the end of the day though, having studied with world-class instructors and having wandered through hundreds of galleries over the years, my style is still my own.

My work has been exhibited and collected throughout the United States, having shown in galleries and shows reaching from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Maui, Hawaii. My sculptures have won awards such as ‘Best Sculpture’ Cherokee National Museum, Trail of Tears. I have also participated in such important shows as ‘13 Outstanding Oregon Artists’ (Oregon), the ‘North American Sculpture Exhibition’ (Colorado), and have shown several times in annual national shows as the ‘Sedona Sculpture Walk’ (Arizona) and the ‘Loveland Sculpture Invitational’ (Colorado).

Highly motivated in my need for more sun and warmth, I moved the studio from my home state of Oregon nearly seventeen years ago to settle here in Tucson and the desert southwest. I share my home with my husband Michael and my Alaskan Shepherd ‘Rescue Dog’ Dakota.

For a more in-depth view of Paddi’s life and work visit the Artist’s Bio

My work represent timeless themes: Native people experiencing the blessings of life - rain, earth, sun - as well as contours of the ageless earth reflected in the human face and female form.
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