James Shipman

Hugh clouds billow from massive towers, blue shirted workers scramble around pots of molten metal, platters of red steel explode and occasionally singe the steel workers. This is the Pittsburgh of a young, inquisitive James Shipman.

Childhood years provided James Shipman with a visual education never to be reproduced again. Today, the smoke billowing towers have ceased to breathe. A few remain, stretching into the sky like an ancient wonder, but the most have been torn down. As a child, Shipman dug clay from the land surrounding his home and used it to create objects. This is where he developed his passion for sculpture. Shipman followed his dream and in 1984 earned an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University.

The spiritual energy in this work flows from the philosophy of the artist. "I've been an artist-athlete most of my life - a wrestler, and an artist who wrestles with the clay and steel. An athlete trains by doing physical and meditative exercises in order to compete without preconceived thought. The same approach is true in my artwork. The work process enables my sculpture to come from a spiritual source."

"One does what one is good at hopefully... I was always good at making something from nothing. Creative thinking, use of the imagination, what America is about. Art is about magic, mystery, and meditation."