By Balinda Fiebiger
 
When I walk into my art studio, it becomes a sacred space. I create three-dimensional representations of the human form in clay, bronze, wax, even chocolate in this place set apart and dedicated to creative form.  When I glance up to face the amazing creation of Taos Mountain in the distance, I feel fortunate to be so near as the peaks stretch into the clouds or the clear blue sky. The time I spend creating each piece of sculpture is special as I lose myself in another dimension.
I have spent several years studying and struggling with the human form. The live model looks all fresh and perky as I open a new bag of white, water-based clay. I love the earthy aroma. I want to feel each human form from the inside out whether it’s a yoga pose, an angel, a young girl sleeping or an old man sitting in contemplation. The essence of the feeling is what creates a chord of unity captured in a moment, especially in a yoga pose.

I peel the plastic off and slice strips of the perfectly cured clay.  My fingers squeeze, press and poke the torso, the shoulders and neck. I roll two tubes of pale white clay for legs to push under the torso, and then smooth the connections while I contemplate the model again. If this is a standing pose I adjust the scaffolding any way I can to maintain the clay until it hardens to a leather like stage. Clay is about timing.  When the model is sitting or reclining and I don’t have to concentrate on the stance, I love the feeling of pushing and twisting until the poetry of the form begins to hum. The spine curves as I feel each bone and muscle attached under the skin. I bend the knees and grab a wooden tool to form the calves.  I twist the ankles and scrape the feet into two rough wedges. The clay morphs into a life-like unity. The golden geometry of the human form with its spirals, and curves, connects with the powerful vibrations of the mountains and sky in ways I was never aware of anywhere else.

Creating art can be a profound activity in Taos. The individual can connect with the universe through the night sky scattered with blazing constellations and falling stars. Sometimes I awake in the middle of the night and go to my studio to paint a moonlit scene on a moonlight canvas.  The subtle green-blue sky meets the blue-green mesa punctuated by a distant yellow light from a window.  My heart opens to the infinite spaces of the universe that connect to Taos as I dab the stars and moon onto a canvas. The snowy peaks glisten in the clear, cold air, as they do only in Taos. I absorb the dynamic energy of the moonlight on the mountains and mesa and it becomes the pulsing life in the painting.

If I take a mountain walk I can hear the water laughing over the rocks and ice crystals chiming in a harmony that is the basis of sacred geometry. A sculpture of a native contemplating a piece of crystal may evolve from this energy. Whatever develops from the clay and paint comes from this elemental space and time.
I believe anyone can open his or her heart to connect to form in a piece of art. I invite anyone to join me in my studio to experience the subtle energies of Taos.
Take a piece of clay in your hands, spread paint on a canvas, drink in the view of Taos Mountain and mesa or sit still and be the model.

Balinda’s Studio
105 Eototo Road
Jgfiebiger@gmail.com
575-737-9471