When creativity is found as a disposition, it will weave its way through all that a person does. Such is true for respected sculptor Star York who thrives on creativity in all aspects of living. While polished creative passions are conspicuous throughout her bronze and silver creations endorsed with celebrated public recognition, they are also at work in her nonpublic side, while in the kitchen or on the trail with treasured animals.
Her biographical details acknowledge that although “her reputation was built on detailed and convincing bronze representations of the American West – from Native American men and women to cowboys and wildlife, she continues to explore a variety of subject matter and styles of sculpting.”
Born near Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Star was the middle daughter in a family of five and grew up in a rural area with a dairy farm behind her home. She credits her mother, a former ballerina, and her father, a woodworker who built the stages on which her mother performed, for a talent that, by the time she was in high school, led to her winning Scholastic Art awards for her miniature sculptures and even signing on with a catalog company to create fantasy figures, and also figures from mythology.
In addition to pursuing her sculpted art creations, horses and other animals have been the constant in this artist’s life – both personally and professionally. She rode competitively as a teenager and put herself through the University of Maryland by exercising racehorses at local racetracks and managing an equine boarding operation. Star’s knowledge of horse anatomy and ability to render horses in a variety of positions and forms found expression in gold and silver miniatures which she created and sold in East Coast art galleries during her university years.
Having moved to the Southwest in 1985 to be near good foundries, Star has lived on her ranch for almost 30 years, north of Santa Fe and near the small community of Abiquiu, New Mexico. Horses are still at the center of her life, usually riding daily in the National Forest near her ranch. In 1990, she had taken up the sport of Polocrosse – an Australian import that is best described as lacrosse on horseback – and played on a team that became national champions. Now she mostly does trail rides and ranch sorting with her husband, a horse trainer from New Zealand who she met through Polocrosse.
Regarding the creative process for new pieces, Star reveals that she seldom starts on a sculpting project with a perceived end in mind. Rather it’s the process of exploration that keeps her intrigued, and keeps her in anticipation of the revealed purpose. “The character emerges as I develop the subject,” she says. “Always keeping in mind the feeling I want to express, the character will eventually reveal itself through the sculpting process. At the moment of revelation, when I see the character of the sculpture before me, it helps me to understand what it was that drew me to sculpt the being before me in clay and that new revelation is a most gratifying experience,” she shares.
Gallery representation can be explored by visiting her website, staryorksculpture.com.
