“The craft of art is my love”- George Wilson

An interview with George Wilson by Cierra Linander

George Wilson, Soft Serve, Elberton gray granite, 2012, 27" x 14”x 6" 

Mixed-media Oklahoma City artist George Wilson serves up an interesting conjunction of material and content in his piece for the Concept/OK exhibition.  Wilson carved Soft Serve from Elberton gray granite, a sculpture that emulates freshly pulled soft-serve ice-cream. The “layers” lay together so perfectly, with smooth, undulating lines that twist upward and separate as they reach the top. Wilson has participated in numerous exhibitions, the last eight of which include a variety of media, from carved granite sculpture to jewelry work, to print-making and photography. Wilson challenges himself with his art so as to eliminate boredom and monotony.

CL: Can you describe the process you used to create your works, especially Soft Serve?

GW: I draw every day. My drawings [explore] the nature of automatic drawings with
nothing specific in mind, random lines and colors that collide, which I later evaluate to see where they might take me. I think about materials I might use and their juxtapositions. I think about the content I want to convey. Soft Serve is an offshoot of these drawings on paper as well as 3-D miniatures made in clay.

CL: What inspired the creation of your Concept/OK piece?
GW: To be honest this work is a continuation of a series with personal exploration and expansion of a skill set as my primary goals. I like a challenge, when I start a piece I am never sure if I will be able to complete or build it as envisioned. I would not work any other way; working “with a
net" so to speak. I get bored when it gets too predictable or I make too many pieces in a series. The craft of art is my love.

CL: What would you like viewers to take from your work?
GW: This work was purely designed to be the focal point in a garden. I want this work to be such that it could be revisited over and over again without becoming boring, seeing something new with each visit. 

The Concept/OK: Art in Oklahoma exhibition welcomes to the public through February 16, 2013  at the new Tulsa Arts and Humanities Council’s Hardesty Arts Center. Admission is free of charge. See www.concept-ok.org for more information.