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Sammy and Laura Long produce a wide range of art
objects in their Spirit Bear Studio:
Sammy and Laura Long work in their
Pacific Northwest Spirit Bear Studio in the San Juan Islands. Sammy is a
sculptor specializing in expressive portrait busts and full figure
bronzes, and also sculpts in stone. While living in Southern California,
Sammy had access to facilities to sculpt abstract and allegorical metal
art, but found his niche in bronzes. He is drawn to the American Plains
Indians and this is reflected in many of his works. But his portfolio
also includes pieces such as La Femme, a simple, elegant nude torso and
The
Honey Bear, a delightful quick portrait of a bear discovering honey in a
downed log.
Sammy says "I always attempt to put
an emotional tug into my art. I want it to be arresting, if only for a
moment, and then I know it has done its job as art. Remember that true
art is more than beauty - it can also make us uncomfortable. If art
arrests you, if only for a moment, it is speaking to your unconscious."
Laura does bas-relief carvings, and
designs furniture intended to serve as objects of art. Her work shows
influences of Northwest Indians and the Orient. Many of her pieces are
in the "natural edge" genre where the beauty of the grain and shape of
the wood are allowed to be the points of interest. Laura uses many of
the woods native to the Pacific Northwest such as Port Orford cedar, western maple, and madrone. Sapele imported from Africa is
her go-to species when the design demands a dark color wood. Laura
revealed that her designs are inspired by lines and patterns she sees in
architecture more often than any other source.
ARTISTS INFORMATION
Sammy Long (M.A., M.S.) had
successful careers in education and as a writer of documentaries and
training films when he discovered his keen interest in sculpture.
Dropping everything and enrolling in the Sculpture Department of San
Diego State University, he took all available classes, and studied
figure sculpting with Jesse Dominquiz and metal work with Jerry Dumalo.
He then began studies at Scottsdale Artist School, and learned advanced
sculpting from Lincoln Fox, Tuck Langland and Eugene Daub, and stone
carving with the renowned Fred X. Brownstein. After moving to the San
Juan Islands to a home on the Salish Sea overlooking Vancouver Island
and the Olympic Peninsula, he and two helpers built the Spirit Bear
Studio where he works happily on his creations, daily.
Laura Long had a career as Assistant
Vice Chancellor Business Services at the University of California San
Diego and then as a specialist in higher education performance
measurements. She had a life-long interest in working with woods and
started to go down that path about 35 years ago when she had the
opportunity to study carving with European chisels with a sculptor while
on a month's sabbatical in Bandon-By-The-Sea, Oregon. The next obvious
step was to learn how to make furniture so that carving could be
incorporated into furniture and furnishings. Some of her furniture
incorporates metal designs that she creates and has produced by local
metal shops. She has recently acquired sand blasting equipment with the
intention of introducing sand-etched glass into her benches.
WHERE TO FIND THEIR WORK
The Spirit Bear Studio is open by
appointment. For prices call (360) 378-4265 or email
longlaura100@gmail.com
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