LAUREN LEVY BIO

Ms. Levy was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and moved to Austin to study art and nursing and received her B. F. A. in studio art and her B. S. N. in Nursing both from the University of Texas. She continued her studies at the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts in metalsmithing. Ms. Levy talks about her button covered sculpture as follows: "When I was small and visiting my great grandmother, I was rewarded for good behavior by being allowed to play in the button box. Buttons are for me the perfect medium for personifying the notions of loss, joy, grief, tenderness and consequent insanity of these extremes. I began making wire and button sculptures in 1991, after the birth of my first child. I had been making small metal sculptures using traditional metalsmithing techniques. Upon finding that as the parent of an infant, I barely had time to turn on the torch before the nap was over, I quickly realized that a low-tech direct approach to making objects with metal was necessary. In addition, I had been, as a resident of Portland, Oregon, an avid knitter. Living back in Texas, I found that one sweater, if any at all, would suffice. Because of geography and life roles I arrived at making small garnets made of metal wire and buttons. My interest and concerns about the world are many and translate into my sculptures. In this collection of works, I am mainly concerned with love, death, sexuality, coping and music." Ms. Levy’s work has been shown in Texas, California, Colorado and Connecticut.