Candace Knapp

My father was a toy designer and I was encouraged to indulge my imagination. I earned a BFA in sculpture from the Cleveland Institute of Art and an MFA from the University of Illinois.  I have had many teachers. I have learned about clarity from the Buddhists, fierce joy from the Sufis, magical holiness from Christian Mystics and life energy from Taoist TaiChi. The main influence in my life and work, however, is my ongoing relationship with nature; with birds, animals, insects, clouds, stars, microbes and especially trees.  I have spent most of my life carving wood and feel a strong kinship with trees.

 I have enjoyed traveling in Europe, Africa and Asia and lived in Sweden for a year with my husband, Bjorn. In Florida we  had a company called Andren & Knapp ( http://www.andoknap.com )  in which we designed and produced furniture and statues for churches. We also worked together on Public Art commissions. All the pictures on that site were taken by Bjorn Andren. He is a gifted photographer.

I have done installations at the Brevard Art Museum, Florida Museum for Women Artists, Florida Craftsmen Gallery in St Petersburg, the Morean Art Center and Mt Dora Center for the Arts and often include composed background sounds as part of the work. My work is in the permanent collection of the Miaoli Wood Sculpture Museum in Sanyi, Taiwan (where I was invited to have a show in 2007) and also in the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis TN.  Lately I have been painting a little and composing poems to go with the work which I post on my blog.

These are some of my new paintings, a series called “Water Reflections”. I have been dedicated to sculpture most of my life and just needed to try something new.  I love the way colors and shapes can create a whole new world with glittery lights and infinite depths. I am sure I will miss carving wood one day soon but for now I am a painter.  I even have ideas for another new series of paintings so stay tuned for more. 

 – Candace Knapp

http://www.candaceknapp.com/