Todd Klippenstein

ARTIST STATEMENT

 

Our lives are rich in layers and texture. With all of my work, in either sculpture or painting, I strive to create works that are visually and symbolically layered. Similar to a book, with its many pages, I believe works of art have their own pages; visually written in a way that allows the viewer to continually see new things, each day.

 

"Providing reflections of who we are - deep within our core - is to me the process of creating something beautiful and sacred."

 

In my process of creating, I spend a great deal of time in meditation, looking at images in nature, rough drawings, color studies and pages of notes from places both tangible and intangible. If it's sculptural figurative work I'm doing, then I study in detail all of the changing shapes in the pose I'm preparing to do. I put sketches, photos and written words up all around my studio. I immerse myself in the process. When I feel completely connected to the direction I want to go, I tear down all of my images and make my space both within and without clean and open; then I am in a space where I feel that I am just standing still and watching something wonderful unfold. Often, when I go to the studio the next day, I don't know how such a beautiful thing was created. I just stand there in honor of the great presence I feel standing beside me.