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ArtWalk welcomes the First Friday Art Crawl with work by sculptor
Darla Sargeant.
Sargeant was born in Ashe County and lived in Boone until 1989.
After a brief period of living in Hickory, she
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returned to her mountain roots. She began making art at an
early age, and thanks to an upbringing full of crafts, Sargeant
learned such trades as sewing, quilting and crochet from her
mother and grandmother.
She was drawn to polymer clay because of its three-dimensional
capabilities. First, she started sculpting with plain white
sculpey. It wasn’t long before the colors and endless possibilities
with polymer clay hooked her. Sargeant feels that the most exciting
part of this media is that there is always something new to
try and learn. She started her own design studio, Celtic Dolphin,
soon after realizing that clay designs was her life passion.
Sargeant is inspired by nature: animals, trees, flowers. She
aims to capture the beauty and magic she finds in all the living
things around her. She typically works on several pieces at
one time, sometimes picking up where she left off weeks earlier.
There are usually too many ideas that are spilling out of Sargeant’s
mind to fit into one day. Also, she feels most inspired working
on her designs listening to music – particularly Celtic
– which was the idea behind her studio’s moniker.
Over the years, her work has undergone many stylistic transformations.
Beginning her designs with a more sculptural approach, she moved
to concentrating on canework. Her more recent work has started
to go back to her roots of sculptural design. Sargeant’s
fascination with polymer clay is only increased because of its
ability to constantly create new and exciting approaches to
design.
Sargeant has had an interesting career in the arts. Although
she did not complete her degree at Appalachian State University,
she did receive her associate degree from Wilkes Community College.
Taking workshops and classes in polymer clay was all she needed
to jump-start her design studio.
Sargeant looks at anything and everything askig the question,
“How can I use this with clay?” If it can withstand
up to 275 degrees in the oven, she will try covering it in clay.
She uses many common household items to create her work. From
a turkey roaster to a pasta machine, she has creatively transformed
kitchenware into her working studio. She uses many design techniques
when creating her pieces. Filigree and Millifiore are just two
techniques that often start a piece of art.
On Friday, July 3, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sargeant will conduct
a demonstration of her work at ArtWalk. She will have several
pieces displayed, while working on designs for all to enjoy.
Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served throughout the evening.
Darla Sargeant’s work is located on ArtWalk’s main
level.With three and a half floors and more than 300 local,
regional and national artists, ArtWalk is located at 611 W.
King St. (across from Mast General Store) Boone, N.C. 28607.
Though ArtWalk is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.
to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m, customers may shop all
the time at the gallery’s online store. ArtWalk continually
welcomes new artists of all media and ages to inquire about
individual gallery booths for rent. For more information, call
(828) 264-9998, email artwalkboone@yahoo.com or visit www.artwalkboone.com.
Gallery Times
Gallery Times is a weekly news feature of the Focus section
of The Mountain Times, featuring short news items submitted
by local galleries.
For more information, contact entertainment editor Frank Ruggiero
at frank@mountaintimes.com or (828) 264-6397.
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