As a psychologist, I helped others understand and value themselves; as an artist, I portray the complexities and humanity of mu subjects. My goal is to create sculptures that evoke emotions from the observer.
Dancers combine form, power, balance, and beauty. I have done a series of dancers: dancing, putting on toe-shoes, walking. The talented ballerina who serves as my model infuses my work with the dancers’ elegance. I strive to duplicate the postures, grace, and beauty that dancers bring to our world.
Women have a variety of possible roles: parent, worker, spouse, source of emotional support. We work long hours creating a home and family center. We balance jobs and family. In my sculptures of women I endeavor to portray many of the facets of a woman’s world.
With regard to sculpture, I believe that form overpowers line. To highlight this, I use surface texture to emphasize the underlying form. I am more concerned with accurate form than with “expected” form. When I sculpt a face, I try to capture every nuance of form in the lips, eyes, shape of eyelids, et cetera. This gives my sculptures have an authentic and human quality.
Artists have a lot of choices in their work. My work reflects my artistic choices: To model real people: their character, their physical strength; their elegance and their beauty.
Susan Rae Westover, Ph.D.
