I have been drawing people since I was 14 years old. I was one of those kids who doodled in the margins of the notes all the time, while still listening to the teacher and taking a full set of notes. It seemed I couldn’t listen well unless I let part of my mind be occupied with the images. At age 14, my parents gave me a rapidograph pen. From then on, the pen became a part of my hand and drawings a part of my life.
When I draw, I find freedom in the black line as the pen rolls over the paper. I draw best when I am confined in a chair or am in a contained environment where I must listen intently; as in a musical performance, a lecture or very dry meeting. Often contradictory feelings or ideas take shape on the page. My imagination is free while my attention is focused elsewhere. Sometimes images emerge on the paper which exposes thoughts that were unknown to my conscious mind. These offshoot images expose new insights. What a joy!
Clay is a different media. Creating a sculpture takes planning and much less spontaneity. As I work the clay, it warms and softens in my hands. I transcend to a place in my in my imagination which I cannot use in my daily life. Working the clay is a foray into the daydreams of creativity. The finished bronze piece has a different visual and tactile sensation. The bronze is cool to touch, firm and very far from the warmth of clay in my hands. The piece has transformed. The visual fluidity is uncharacteristic of metal. My soft clay image has emerged as a permanent piece, fixed now in time.
The bronzes are about balance. They reflect my growth from adolescence into maturity. In my professional world, I am continually reminded of how delicately life is balanced.
My bronzes are people who reflect aging and wear. They are still dancing, doing cartwheels or resting. They are caught in the moments of transition. They may fall or fly. They are reflections of the delicate balance of life.
Or maybe, sculpture is about still playing with dolls, and drawing is a sojourn in imaginary worlds.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT 2010
DRAWING
I draw when confined to a chair and intently listening: in school, meetings, or concerts. I have found that allowing my hand to travel across the paper into images enhances my understanding of the audio information. As a youngster, I realized that sound energized me, especially when I played my violin. But, without the instrument, I found that that all that energy engendered by music needed an outlet. So I drew on the program, the meeting notes, scraps of papers, notebooks. A gift of a special pen allowed me to create permanent india ink images. The lines would spring up and the image grow, then I would discover its meaning, like a revelation of my internal life beyond the stimulus of the sound. When attempting to listen in school or a meeting, my mind would wander into commentary on the subject. Since I feared censure if I were to speak up, the commentary would spring onto the paper. I became aware of the power of images through these visual commentaries.
BRONZE
I learned to cast bronze and the use of metal at Mills College. It was a challenge for me to learn to do what others in civilizations throughout the world had done for thousands of years. The 3rd dimension in imagery felt good to my hands. Working the soft clay then laboring toward hard metal completed a transformation into an image which was unbreakable. Balance, or lack of it, dominates my images, especially the bronzes. The work reflects my life in the fragile balance of grace and loss.
RESUME
EVANY D. ZIRUL BA, M.F.A., D.O.
Born in Brooklyn, New York
404 East Sussex Way
Fresno, CA 93704
Email: Zirul@comcast.net
Website: zirulart.com
AWARDS
| California Sculptors Symposium
Show.........Yellow Girl - Best in Show award |
2012 |
| First Prize Metal Sculpture, California
Sculpture Symposium |
2011 |
| "Kentucky Man", California Sculpture Symposium, First Prize Metal Sculpture |
2011 |
| First Prize Nudes in November Leaning Woman |
2010 |
| Best in Show: "Modern Woman", (bronze) "Nudes in November" |
2009 |
| Honorable Mention, sculpture (bronze), California Sculptor's Symposium |
2009 |
| Best Sorensen choice, Drawing, nupastel, "Nudes in November" |
2009 |
| Second Place, Sculpture "Nudes in
November" |
2009 |
| Second Place Sculpture (bronze) "Nudes in
November" |
2008 |
| Best Sorensen Choice Drawing nu-pastel
"Nudes in November" |
2008 |
| Second Place, Sculpture (bronze) " Nudes
in November" |
2007 |
SHOWS
| California Sculptors Symposium
Show.........Yellow Girl - Best in Show award |
2012 |
ART DEGREE AND EXPERIENCE
| Instructor in the Figure, Camp Ocean Pines California Sculptors Symposium, Cambria California |
|
| Instructor in the Figure, Camp Ocean Pines California Sculptors Symposium, Cambria California |
2008 |
| Instructor of Fine Arts, Center College, Danville, Kentucky |
1972-1974 |
| M.F.A. Sculpture and Design, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas |
1972 |
| Teaching Assistant, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas |
1970-1972 |
| Humbolt State College, Bronze Casting, Arcata, California |
1969 |
| BA Art History, Mills College, Oakland, California |
1968 |
| Art Course-work, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California |
1968 |
| Art Course-work, The Art Institute of Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri |
1967 |
PUBLIC ART
| “THE ACORN GATHERER” Commission for Clovis, California installation |
|
MEMBERSHIP
| Fig Tree Gallery |
2009-CURRENT |
ART PUBLISHED
| Harvard Review, Breast Cancer Monograph “Modern Woman” | 2010 |
| Permanente Medical Journal "Modern Woman" (bronze) | 2009 |
| Permanente Medical Journal, Drawings, | 2007 |
| Quilt IV, Ishmael Reed and A. Young | 1984 |
| Quilt V, Ishmael Reed and A. Young | 1985 |
| medical illustrations for various medical publications |
FUTURE PUBLICATION
| Alternate Worlds and Visions of Reality A Collection of 35 Years of Drawings |
|
RELATED SKILLS
Pen and Ink drawings, medical illustrations published in Medical Journals, personal commentaries and caricatures
RELATED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
| Retired: Ear, Nose, Throat and Facial Plastic surgeon (Otolaryngologist) from Kaiser Permanente, Fresno CA |
|
| volunteer ENT provider physician, Povorello House, Fresno CA |
2008-current |
| Violin, 12 years, youth soloist with the Kansas City Philharmonic |
1960 |
| Kansas State Music Champion, solo violin |
1961-1964 |
| City Orchestra, San Francisco volunteer | 1970 |