CELEBRATION OF SCULPTURE - PANELISTS MAY 1ST

Kim Johnson is an art educator and a multidisciplinary artist with over 27 years of experience inspiring creativity through hands-on exploration. Currently teaching at the Washington State School for the Blind, she employs a deeply sensory and inclusive approach to art education. As one of the many dedicated art educators, Kim works in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms, creating whimsical, immersive artwork using clay, glass, paint, and a wide range of tactile materials. Her artistic practice, aligned with the celebration of sculpture, embraces texture, movement, and sound, inviting viewers to experience art beyond the visual. 

Kim’s teaching philosophy centers on accessibility, exploration, and cultural connection. She encourages students to engage with art through touch, sound, and intuition while exploring a range of diverse artistic traditions and perspectives, helping them develop both creative skills and a broader understanding of the world. Her classroom serves as a dynamic, supportive space where curiosity and play are essential, empowering every student to discover their unique artistic voice. 

As she continues to create her own work alongside inspiring generations of students, Kim believes that art should be experienced with the whole body—and that creativity flourishes when students feel seen, included, and inspired. In her role as one of the multimedia sculptors, Kim Johnson helps students see, feel, and hear art in transformative new ways.

Philip A. Robinson Jr. is an award-winning multimedia sculptor, conceptual artist, and art educator. He primarily works with wood, using it as a metaphor for temporality and natural cycles to explore themes of identity within both popular and marginalized cultures. As a bi-coastal artist, Robinson has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions across the U.S. and internationally, contributing to the celebration of sculpture in diverse settings. His solo shows include installations at the Portland International Airport, Hollywood Theatre (PDX), Eminent Domaine Winery, High Line Nine, The Untitled Space Gallery, Dutchess Community College, and more. His work has also been featured at prominent art events and venues such as BITBASEL at the Sagamore Hotel, Prizm Art Fair during Miami Art Basel, The Porsche Studios in Beaverton, The Tanya Weddemire Gallery, Rush Arts Gallery, KL City Art Gallery in Malaysia, Lululemon at Hudson Yards, The National Academy Museum and School, The Barrett Art Center, Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibition, and The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery. Robinson holds a BFA in Studio Art from Skidmore College and an MFA in Sculpture from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

I have been working with clay seriously since Fall of 1998 when my mom signed me up for private pottery lessons. I fell in love with clay and continued to focus on it in college at Southern Oregon University where I got my BFA. I personally love the transformational aspect of clay as a creative medium, and as an art educator, I appreciate its role in a celebration of sculpture. It is the most Alchemical medium; Earth, Air, Fire, and Water all come together to provide the necessary conditions to transform mud into rock and rock into glass. I find it magical and it never gets boring. For the last five years, I have been exploring mixed clay throwing, creating both functional work and sculptural figures using thrown mixed clay cylinders as a starting form. I'm really excited to share my passion with 7-12 graders at VSAA, where I have been teaching for 18 years. Over the last 7 of those years, I have slowly built a pottery program that offers a one-semester introductory class and a year-long advanced class for high schoolers. It’s inspiring to see my young student artists, who are emerging multimedia sculptors, get excited, experiment, fail, and grow while ultimately loving what they do. They inspire me, and I inspire them. It is magic, and I'm so thankful I get to be in a position to fan the flames of creativity with clay.

Born in 1964 in Morristown, New Jersey, my journey began with a boyhood in Kansas and Oklahoma, followed by adolescence in Ohio and Michigan. From 1982 to 1985, I enrolled at the University of Washington before transferring to The Evergreen State College, where I graduated in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts. My formal studies spanned architecture, political science, art history, life drawing, and creative writing. Currently residing in Portland, Oregon, I create works that may resonate with art educators and provide a celebration of sculpture. These artworks embody the spirit of multimedia sculptors as they navigate the highs and lows of existence. They serve as guides into the cosmology of a Universe at Play, where the stakes are not do-or-die; rather, the dead are part of this exploration as well. The rules of this game remain unwritten and intuitive, yet values such as fairness, inclusiveness, health, joy, and a heightened awareness hold universal significance. "Take joy and Be aware," they remind us.

Jennifer Corio is half of the artist duo known as Cobalt Designworks, located here in Vancouver. For 16 years, she and her husband have created large-scale sculptures for public settings, utilizing a wide variety of metals, fabrication techniques, and finishes. Their work reflects a celebration of sculpture that aims to lift spirits and brighten the world by transforming metal into graceful, dynamic forms, finished with vibrant colors that add pop and levity to their surroundings. There is a playful sophistication to their art, which not only inspires but also serves as a resource for art educators. With a diverse portfolio consisting of dozens of outdoor sculptures throughout the Pacific Northwest, many pieces have evolved into iconic landmarks that evoke a sense of place, showcasing the talents of multimedia sculptors and enriching the identity of local communities.

Shelly Durica-Laiche is a talented multimedia sculptor based in Portland, Oregon, where she designs and builds both decorative and functional metal sculpture. Utilizing a MIG welder or cold connection techniques, Shelly draws inspiration from the outside world, turning her experiences into three-dimensional works of art. "I focus on the elegance of form, employing a linear and bold graphic aesthetic to express the most with minimal materials," she explains. Her preferred medium is salvaged steel, complemented by non-ferrous metal accents like brass, stainless, aluminum, and copper. Shelly sources her materials from steelyards, roadside finds, donations, or her travels. "I’m inspired by the unique shapes of these found treasures. Scrap metal carries an embedded history and character that informs each design. Sometimes the vision for a piece comes quickly, while other times it takes years of contemplation. I embrace the design challenge of transforming these recognizable objects into assemblages that speak in new ways. My goal is for viewers to be surprised by how the material is employed in unconventional manners, far removed from its past life. For me, the process is truly magical," she shares, highlighting the importance of creativity in a celebration of sculpture, which is vital for art educators and aspiring artists alike.