“That's a really good video. I like how you teach other people to care about the environment like you do.”
- Emily, 4th grade, Sycamore Creek Elementary School
ARTIST
STATEMENT
For over a decade now, I have
been documenting the “stuff” of our society that we use
once and throw away. Americans create more garbage, per capita, than
any other culture, yet we are blind to our waste. I believe this is
a function of our wealth, and the vastness of our country. We have
the room to hide our waste, and the money to make more. I collect many
things, among them, bottle caps, credit cards, pencils, and chop sticks.
I use these everyday items to make work, which transforms the objects
and surprises us. I am an environmentalist, receiving great joy from
the natural world. This makes me aware of how we take what we have
for granted. We are used to using “stuff” once and then
throwing it away. We may throw it away, but my work makes me aware
of its continual impact.
One of Bryant's specialties
is creating community art projects with
groups of children or adults. She will work with you to create
your own project designed for a specific event and/or group of participants,
or she will lead you in a project of her own design. Bryant also likes
to engage groups of students or adults in the making of her larger
environmental installations.
2010 -
Artist in Residence, University of Wisconsin, Madison WI
2010 -
Community Portrait of Durham, Durham NC
2009 - AWAY AND BACK AGAIN,
mandala installation at Fed Ex Global Education
Building, UNC, Chapel Hill, NC
2009 -
Visiting Artist, Haystack Mountain School
of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME
2009 - ACCESSIBILITY/SUSTAINABILTY--Installation
and community outreach, Cleveland St
College, TN
2000-present - Visiting artist
in Wake County and Johston County Schools
2008-09 - Artist in Residence for the Resource
Center for Women Ministry and the South,
Durham, NC
2008 - Arrowmont School of Crafts,
Instructor, summer
2006 - Instructor, Haystack
Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME
2005 - Independent book making workshop, Aarau, Switzerland
2004 - RIVER OF CAPS, an installation
made in collaboration with Winston-Salem/Forsyth Co. Schools, Sawtooth
Center, SECCA, and funded in part by the NC Arts Council.
2010 - “AGAIN AND NEVER AGAIN: Can we co-exist with ourselves?" Guilford College, Greensboro, NC
2010 - BLUESPHERE: EARTH ART EXPO, sponsored by the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charseleston SC, College of Charleston, bottle cap mandala in Addleston Library
2009 - AWAY AND BACK AGAIN--an
installation in the UNC Global Fed X
building, Chapel Hill, NC
2008 - ARTISTS MAKE ALTARS Long View Center,
118 S. Person St., Raleigh, NC
2008 - 6th International Fiber Biennial, Snyderman
-Works Galleries, Philadelphia, PA, March
6-April, 2008, Curated by Brue Hoffman. www.snyderman-works.com
2008 - 2008 Fiber Biennial,
Snyderman Gallery, Philadelphia, PA,
March 6-April, 2008, curated by Bruce Hoffman
2007 - Parkway Show, Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC--Sept-Oct.
2006 - The EDGES OF GRACE: PROVOCATIVE, UNCOMMON CRAFT, Fuller Craft
Museum, Brockton, MA. Curated by Gail Brown.
2006 - ELEMENTS: An Invitational Exhibition of Assemblage/CollageWork,
Rocky Mount Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC
2005 - NESTING INSTINCT, an installation
at the Orange County Historical Society, Hillsborough, NC
Blackbirds, Bottle Caps, & Broken Records
DVD now available from RCWMS
STUFF: Where Does It Come From and Where Does It Go?
Installation At the Turchin Center for the Arts
Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
April 6, 2012 - July 28, 2012
Workshop: Making Wild Animals Using the Materials of Our LivesAppalachian Center for Craft, Cookeville Tennessee, July 8-13, 2011
Bryant is at work on her on going project: ADRIFT: What we cast away and where it goes. For more information on ways to contribute or participate please contact her at Bryant@bryantholsenbeck.com
She is available for consultations, lectures and workshops.
BIOGRAPHY
Bryant Holsenbeck began her arts career as a basket maker. Since that time she has evolved into an environmental artist who makes large-scale installations that document the waste stream of our society. She has shown her work and taught throughout the United States. She has been the recipient of 2 North Carolina Arts Council Fellowships, a Project Grant and an NEA Arts and Learning Grant that she worked on in collaboration with the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission. She is currently attempting to live one year with out disposable plastic and writing a blog about it entitled “THE LAST STRAW: A RELUCTANT YEAR WITHOUT DISPOSABLE PLASTIC.” Most recent past projects are AGAIN AND NEVER AGAIN: Can We Co-Exist with Ourselves? At Guilford College, Greensboro, NC and a 28 foot recycled mandala for blueshere: earth art expo, sponsored by the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in Charleston, SC. She is a community artist who likes to work with groups of people to make large-scale installations using the “stuff” of our society. She is also an independent studio artist who makes books, birds, and sculptures out of recycled materials.
2009 - 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse, Garth Johnson, pub 2009 by Quarry Books
2009 - BLACKBIRDS BOTTLE CAPS AND BROKEN RECORDS, Environmental artist
Bryant Holsenbeck at work, a film by Margaret Morales, produced by RCWMS,
Durham, NC
