Sculptors

 Jamie Lester is a well known West Virginia based artist. He attended West Virginia University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, with focus on ceramic and sculpture.  After college he went through a weeklong intensive training in bas-relief sculpture from sculptor Ken Bradford. Sculptures Bill Hopen of Sutton West Virginia, and Alan Cottrill from Zanesville Ohio served as his mentors throughout the last ten years. He is most well known in West Virginia for sculpting the Jerry West statue. The process of creating the sculpture of the basketball star required intensive planning, energy, creativity and hard work. The dynamic nature of the figure in motion along with the fascinating nature of the subject, gave him an unparalleled opportunity to make a very interesting sculpture. The Jerry West statue is a great example of Jamie’s ability to complete extreme pieces of art from start to finish.  He also has sculpted inductees to the Southern Gospel Hall of Fame and the entire World Golf Hall of Fame.

 Early Life
Jamie Lester was born at Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley and his residence at the time of birth was Oceana West Virginia. As a child he drew constantly, starting as young as the age of two years old. He had a positive environment growing up, with both his parents being completely supportive of his aspirations to become a professional artist. He is an avid musician and can play two instruments and also sings.

Inspiration/Admiration
Jamie’s work is inspired by the human spirit. When he creates a sculpture it is inspired by the beauty in the natural world. His favorite piece of work done by someone else is Giancomo Bernini’s David. He looks to his contemporaries in the figurative sculpture world for inspiration as well. Continuing his progress in his work, and to get better with every piece of work that he does  is what keeps inspiring him.

Current Works and Goals
The primary goal is to do more full round large scale bronze sculptures. Something that Jamie currently is working on is a fictional novel. He would like to enhance his knowledge of the human anatomy, musculature, and bone structure. Jamie loves to spend time with his family. He has a wife named Michelle and three kids. He also enjoys going to basketball games and working around the house. In being such a well-known artist you may be surprised to know that Jamie has a very basic studio, his garage. He is able to complete most of his sculptures there unless they are very large, in which case he must rent a special warehouse Jamie currently is working on many different projects. “I just finished a ¼ life scale Arabian Stallion and Trainer for a client here in West Virginia. I am sculpting a 44-inch wide relief sculpture of the Fokker F7, commemorating the first passenger flight from Key West, Florida to Havana, Cuba in 1928. I sculpt a number of relief portraits ever week, and still draw constantly” said Jamie. Jamie hopes that his art is able to stand on it’s own, without text and still be fully appreciated.

Chris Dutch works in stained glass, sculpture, and mixed media.  He exhibits his art around the state at places such a Tamarack and The Clay Center.

Early Life
Chris grew up in Auburn, Maine.  As a child he was always drawing and coloring with crayons and colored pencils.  This was his favorite pass time as a child.  His Mom was a painter and taught him how to paint.  His parents took him to art shows and taught him how to use tools and to build things.  In High School Chris had an excellent art teacher who taught him art history, a lot of basic techniques, and how to really look at things.  He did not study art in collage but after words decided to work as an artist.  Chris went to workshops and summer classes at Cedar Lakes in Ripley, WV, Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State and the Haystack Mt. School in Maine.

Inspirations, Admirations and Goals
Visual things like other people’s art and things in the world inspire Chris.  He looks for interesting combinations of shapes, colors, lines, and objects. Chris’ favorite work by someone else is the large bronze statue in front of the Clay Center called “Lightning with a Stag in its Glare” by Joseph Beuys.  He thinks that it is fascinatingly weird and it has had an influence on much of his work.  Chris would like to find more time to draw because he thinks that it is the basis of everything.  He also wants to get better at glass painting, a process where paint is kiln fired into the surface of the glass.  Chris likes to build large pieces and would like to do more of them.

 
Current and Future Work
Right now Chris is working with Robin Hammer on a sculpture of the crucifixion for an Easter art show.  It will be media sculpture made of wood, paint, and stained glass.  He is also designing a mural in tile for a new bathroom in is house.

 He currently has work in the Art  Store on Bridge Road and at the Clay Center.  He also has several stained glass windows in churches and commercial buildings in Charleston. 

Naomi Bays is a Charleston photographer, sculptor and mixed-media artist.  She is also very active in the city’s art scene, working in the Annex Gallery at Taylor Books and also with the city’s FestivALL commission.

Early Life

Naomi Bays comes from a long line of artistic background. She claims, “Everyone in my family is creative in some form.” Her birthplace is Nurnberg, Germany, which is directly related to her art because her earliest artistic experience was making crazy Polish style Easter eggs. Naomi attended the University of Charleston and West Virginia State to get her artistic training. She loves Charleston and sees many opportunities here having to do with her artwork by portraying people from rural areas perceive feminist issues.

Inspiration/Admirations

            Naomi finds inspiration everywhere, but she finds inspiration more from women’s issues.   She admires artists Cindy Sherman, Diane Arbus, and Cy Twombly.  

            Naomi has a very unique work area. She describes is as, “A disaster!” Regardless she loves her work are and confesses, “It’s why I bought the house!” Adding her own personal touch to her workplace, Naomi paints silhouettes of her girls on the wall each year.

            To fully understand Naomi’s artwork, she advises the viewer to simply infer his or her own thoughts or opinions. She doesn’t believe the viewer needs to know exactly why or what she is saying in her artwork but to instead appreciate the gist of it. She further explains, “I don’t expect people to know I am referring to a particular chapter in a book or some pop issue.”

Future Work/Goals

            Some of her many goals include bringing the fine arts together in a cohesive group for this area.  She believes an Artistic Resource center is needed for Charleston and is an advocate for an arts council.

            Naomi’s art is being shown at Taylor Books, Capital Market, Frankenburger Gallery, Della Brown Gallery, Cultural Center and Huntington Museum of Art. She is also published in the 2005 College Photographers book sponsored by Nikon. However, her favorite piece of artwork is Renewal (2004), presented in the 2005 WV Juried Exhibition. If you’d like to see Naomi’s remarkable work then you can visit the galleries listed above or view her current work, which is an E for a FestivALL project.

Ever Reaching, installation