Emily Matar Scheibal

These current pieces of my totem series are inspired by the totem poles of the Pacific Northwest Native Americans.  This series is an abstraction of the mythical animals the native americans depicted.  I have always been heavily inspired by Brancusi and Louise Bourgeois.  My training as a sculptor has been extensive and traditional.  I studied for seven years under Philip Listengart at SUNY Purchase.  After receiving my Bachelor of Fine Arts, I returned to northern California to marry with my high school sweetheart in Napa county.  We later started Quinterra, a small company manufacturing hand made concrete garden art.

Quinterra was a great platform to keep my sculpting skills fresh.  I had been sculpting traditional figurative pieces, as well as free form architectural pieces out of reinforced concrete.  My husband and I had a lot of fun with this business.  In 2011, my interests turned towards my fine art work.

 In 2011 I made it more of a priority to focus my energy on one of a kind sculptures instead of the manufacturing part of being a “maker”.  I have more energy than time to create the pieces that have been making up the Totem Series.  As each piece is completed, the next is evolving quicker than I can mix the plaster.  Each piece is like a Sunday drive.  There is no specific intent, no clear directive.  It is simply the process and materials that draw me to the studio on a daily basis.  It is a vocabulary and mythology that has taken 37 years to develop. The culmination of that experience is at the heart of every piece.

 I enjoy working with space and light.  There is an intent to take the viewer with me on this kind of Sunday drive as one’s eyes follow the lines and the light of each piece to find the elegance of the details.  An added element to my design is the music that I play while I work in the studio.  In theme of this element, I have named most of my pieces after notable operas and symphonies.

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