Interested in making the leap from studio art to public art commissions? “Getting Started in Public Art,” will help you better understand the field and how to get your foot in the door. Artists Fernanda D’Agostino, Mark R. Smith and James Schmidt, who have successfully won public art commissions, will share their personal experience and suggestions on entering this competitive field.  Elite Marble and Granite and Peters Galss Studio, fabricators of international and local projects, will show how they help translate the artist’s vision into large scale, durable artworks. The fabricators will show examples of their collaborations with artists and explain what they need to translate a sketch into reality.

The workshop will provide tips on making your application more competitive.  Participants will also have the valuable opportunity to show a piece of artwork and have the experts give advice on how to translate that work into public art. Come prepared to:

All workshops held at the Walters Cultural Arts Center (527 East Main St, Hillsboro, OR), located two blocks off the MAX Blue line.

This workshop is a part of the HACC Professional Development Workshop Series. For more information, call 503-615-3485 or Email Us.

Presenter Bios

Fernanda D'Agostino has completed 15 solo gallery exhibitions, 25 public art commissions, has been awarded numerous international fellowships and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She works in stone, bronze, stainless steel, video, wood, cast and silkscreened glass. Recent projects include Celestial Navigations, video projections at SeaTac Airport and Intellectual Ecosystem, a monumental projection on the new Student Recreation Center at PSU. fernandadagostino.com, vimeo.com/fernandadagostino

James Schmidt has worked exclusively as a metal sculptor for 40 years. With a BFA from the U of O he moved to New York and built a successful business creating public and privately commissioned artwork, returning to Oregon in 1994. His “Dancing Chairs,” sited at the corner of 2nd and Washington in Hillsboro, “appear to want to jump down off their pedestal and follow you down the street.” He also created the whimsical bus shelter at Hillsboro Main Library. jamesschmidtsculpture.com

Mark R. Smith holds a BFA from the Cooper Union in New York  City and an MFA from Portland State University.  He has completed several large-scale public art projects in the region.  His work is also featured in three recent (2009) book publications; Artists and Maps, from Princeton Architectural Press, Forty Years of Murals in New York City, from University of Mississippi Press, and 100 Artists of the West Coast II, from Schiffer Books.  His artwork is represented in Portland at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery. elizabethleach.com

Elite Granite and Marble of Hillsboro has produced stone artworks for projects around the country, including the Washington Park MAX state and the Portland airport. elitegraniteandmarble.com

Peters Studio is a 100-year-old German art glass fabricator. Artists can work with the company through their Portland representative or stay at the company apartments in Germany to oversee their work. peters-studio.com