“Mommy!! Look!!”, 8”h x 11”w

In addition to regularly exhibiting her sculpture at The Loft Gallery, Gwen shows her work at the Prince Royal Gallery and various other galleries from time to time. She has also enjoyed displaying her work in many juried shows throughout the metropolitan area and special one-artist shows.

She has served on the Board of Directors of The Art League at the Torpedo Factory in various capacities since 1999, and recently (FY06) she had the honor of serving as President of that Board. She was also the proud recipient of Alexandria’s Alex Award for 2006 for “Excellence in Service to the Arts”.

As a sculptor, her greatest pleasure is appreciating the various effects of light and shadow as she is working. Gwen sculpts in clay or plastilene and tries to capture both expression and likeness whether doing animals, heads/busts, or full figurative pieces. Several of her sculptures, including commission pieces, have been molded and cast in bronze. Lockhart said the plastilene works displayed in this show will likewise be molded for subsequent casting in bronze using the same lost wax process.

Gwen sculpts in clay and succeeds in capturing both expression and likeness whether doing heads/busts or full figurative pieces. Having done some commission pieces, she would welcome others. Gwen has also demonstrated a particular talent for sculpting animals and plans to do more work in this area. She normally applies a patina to a finished piece once it is kiln-fired, but in some instances she has had the piece molded and cast in bronze. She uses the lost wax process which is the traditional 5,000-year-old method of bronze casting and is a complicated and difficult process.

"For years, I followed a career that was totally unrelated to art. Those years, while rewarding, now enhance the sense of ecstasy I feel when pursuing art and being creative. As a relatively new sculptor I still experience great pleasure when I see the various effects of light and shadow on a three-dimensional piece. With respect to my medium, I continue to work in clay and have had some pieces molded and cast in hydrocal as well as bronze (the lost wax process). It usually takes a minimum of six weeks for me to complete a piece in clay and apply the patina. If a piece is subsequently molded and cast in bronze, considerably more time is needed to complete the project."

Bronze Casting: The Lost Wax Process

The lost wax process is the traditional method of bronze casting . It has been around for at least 5000 years, and is a complicated and difficult process: