Years ago, I had the great fortune to meet a very dynamic, engaging and talented sculptor Tammy Vitale at the Del Rey Artisans gallery. I had four paintings displayed, Tammy had several of her sculpted works placed about the show. The admiration was mutual. I've always loved the energy and pure spirit of her earthen and glass works and have been thrilled to have several of her pieces in my home.
Tammy is a both a professional and natural organizer, so it was no surprise that she was the driving force behind the "Wylde Women", a loose group of talent and drive that was born of Southern Maryland women artists. Though my path led in another direction, Tammy keeps that energy alive and constantly moves forward in both her work and her passion.
So, when our paths crossed again at ArtoMatic 2008, Tammy again swept me up in her creative whirlwind and gave me two of her raw torso sculptures to "tattoo". Leave it to a woman with this sort organizational genius to figure out how to combine my craft with her art. She's truly a "weaver".
The result was two works, based on my own love of spiritual symbolism and traditional tattoo art. "Erzulie Freda" and "Damballah". At this time, they reside in our private collections.
Tammy's work and blog can be found here. She's well worth a visit.
