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A R T & C U L T U R E
Samantha
Churchill
"Sex Panther"
Samantha is a wire sculptor who
graduated Maine college of Art with
a B.F.A. in sculpture. She moved
to Tampa in 2007 where a chance
meeting led her to a scrapped pile
that contained electrical conduit
wire salvaged from the then under
construction Skypoint building.
For years she has been making aluminum wire
sculptures from this scrap. Each sculpture that Samantha
makes is cold twisted and manipulated using a pair of
needle nose pliers. The aluminum allows for a variety of
sculptures. Light weight and weather resistant, they are
outdoor or indoor ready. Some are free standing, some
are created to hang by a simple nail on the wall, and yet
other sculptures hang from the ceiling. Whether small
or large scale each sculpture begins as a single strand,
through the bending and manipulating of the wire they
eventually start to build up mass.
Recently Samantha has begun to push her sculptures
in a variety of new directions. Incorporating different
materials and while she has consistently used aluminum
and copper wire now she is including wood, steel,
aluminum casing, glass, and animal bones.
She has shown in more than 400 shows most of which
have been right here in the bay area, but also New York
City, Miami, Milan, San Diego, and Seattle. You can
check out her body of work at
.