Today we’d like to introduce you to Rhonda Kap.
Hi Rhonda, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My Story
I’ve been an artist all my life. Both may parents loved to draw and paint. As a teenager and in to my twenties, all the after school and summer jobs were teaching art. One summer camp I worked at had a woman teaching metal sculpture. I asked her if she would teach me how to weld. From the moment I light the torch I was hooked. That was the summer of 1972.
There is something about the flame of the torch that’s so hypnotic. I love the glow of the torch as it transforms the materials. I work in copper and bronze because of the warmth colors. They get more beautiful with age.
I traveled with Helen Burke, the woman that taught me how to weld, for six months in Israel and studied with other artist there for the rest of the year.. When I came back to California I attend San Francisco Art Institute on some scholarships. To pay for the rest of my living expenses I got a job at a welding supply company, Victor Equipment. I started as a secretary, that lasted less than a year. My knowledge of welding far surpassed my secretary skills. When I graduated college with a BFA they transferred me to Salinas, CA and made me manager of one of their store. I was the first women store manger for them in the country.
I was a great time for collecting knowledge and tools but working full time left me little time for my art. After 12 1/2 years I quit and went back to teaching and doing my art. I had had two beautiful daughter and this also gave me more time with them. It was a struggle but worth it.
I move back to Los Angeles to get more support from my family. I meet my husband Alisha Volotzky a glass artist who was very supportive of my art work. We created a life together making a living only from our art. I was hired buy the Braille Institute to teach art to blind and visually impaired three days a week. I work 24 years for the and it feed my creative process.
As every one knows art is created in the heart and the mind not in the eyes.
I have show in juried art shows across the nation. Won award and honors in competitions. My work is in Synagogues and privet collations across the United States, Canada, and Israel. I have been published in many books, magazine and news papers.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t believe in obstacles, I see them as challenges something to overcome not something that will block the way.
One of my biggest challenges happen eight years ago. My husband died, we where lovers, friends, collaborators in life and in our art. After he passed I had to find a way to keep living and creating my art. I have a close family and many close friends who also love him. They gathered round me and held me close.
The problem was to go back to the studio alone and create. I found a way to keep the collaboration alive. I continued to here his voice as I created. On my first two commissions after his passing, I included some glass from his stained-glass works and steel from his table bases. It made me feel like he was still with me.
In November 2018, the Woolsey Fire came though and burnt my studio to the ground. I lost all of my husband’s remaining art work, drawing, all our tools, and my art work. I felt like I lost him again. My house was damaged and needed major repairs. The day after the fire, I got a call for a large commission. Again my friends and family gathered around me. I lived with my sister for two and a half months and worked in a friends shop while creating the commission. Many friends donated tools. Even Facebook friends form metal forums sent me tools. Among the ashes my husband left me one recognizable glass art piece which I made into another collaboration. (picture include)
My husband use to say the the definition of an artist is someone whose art is stronger than them. His memory a my drive to create has carried me though these difficult times.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I create in copper and bronze, with oxygen and acetylene torch. I have created lighting, goblets, judaica, synagogue art, and fountains. My work is displayed in public places and in privet homes across the country, Canada, and Israel. I have won many awards and have shown in juried shows across the country.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Essential Qualities
I my art work is very organic. Things grow up on my table. My work takes on many forms flowers, vines, fire, seeds, seedpods, seaweed and other natural elements. Essential qualities of my work is it must have movement and flow.
Each piece is a handmade original. No molds are used. I sign each art work. They are crafted from copper and bronze and sculpted with oxygen acetylene welding equipment. By the flame of the torch I transform each unique piece of art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rhondakap.com
- Instagram: rhonda_kap_metal__sculptor
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhondakapmetalsculptor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RKapMetalSculptor/videos
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/rhondakapmetalsculptor/
Image Credits
Alisha Volotzky
Rhonda Kap
Peter Bright
