Artist Statement from Tracy Rapier
August 20, 2009
When I start a piece of work, I have a general idea of the concept and what it will end up like—which, of course, it rarely does. My projects are always in my head, sometime color and others not.
My ideas start in a variety of ways. The storefronts came upon my seeing paintings of storefronts. I thought it would be neat for them to be 3D, to hang like a picture. The art dolls and other figurines stem from my personal interests in all things historical, medieval, and fantasy.
The locks came from the fact that locks are so damn ugly, and I wanted to do something about it. Also it was hard to find antique locks, and if I have to look for them, it takes too long to get them. I needed locks for the chests I was making and they had to be a certain look to complement them. I decided the only way to get what I wanted was to make my own.
The chests are a personal interest. The first chest I made started with a tool box. I wanted to see if I could take a plain Walmart-type toolbox and change it into what was in my head but still be completely functional; plus, I always wanted a pirate’s chest.
About the art itself—I can’t not do it. It is like getting a cat to not scratch; it is just something I do; I have no choice. It is ingrained; I think about it all the time; I practice it in my head; it is not anything I have control over. I will be walking around and something triggers it.
I constantly practice in my head—something triggers an idea, whatever it may be, a person talking, a movie, something I see, a book. I see the finished piece in my head, think about the mechanics, a certain curve or a pose, mainly shapes; and then I start thinking of the mechanics of what it has to include, how I am going to go about doing it, certain elements I am going to exploit, like texture and shape, and I see it finished in my head. Once that happens, I just have to start on it or do a rough sketch on any scrap of paper; I write and sketch on anything to keep the idea fresh and keep the elements I am trying to explore fresh and I might even make notes, write it down and I can explore it later; these are notes only I see and make sense only to me.
Sometimes I do not create art because I simply do not want to….because real life takes precedent or other objects need to be finished; I’ve lived my life knowing it is going to be delayed; or I simply have an idea from a material that I want to make something out of but I do not know enough about the material or if it is practical or even possible, especially metal; maybe it is not as easy as I think it is going to be or the material may not behave the way I want it to, or it may be cost prohibitive.
Everyday items are ugly and I want them to be personalized. I just want to see what I can do with an object. It’s a challenge; I want to see what I can make out of it.
The details are incredible and your painting is so fantastic. You have some lucky niece’s. I hope they appreciate what their Uncle made for them.