The metal, stone, and clay sculptures by Carol Adamec take on a variety of forms and are a means of expression in her life. “I translate emotions into a physical state and bring them to people’s attention with beauty and elegance,” explains the artist.
An early love of clay led Carol Adamec, a native of Long Island, to Alfred University College of Ceramics to major in sculpture. After earning her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree there, she earned her Master’s from SUNY Brockport, working with Albert Paley and Wendall Castle. Her thesis was metalworking.
Today, her bronze castings, ceramic sculptures, and pottery have garnered numerous awards. Adamic’s sculptures range from the realistic to the abstract and are a few inches to several feet in scale. Her work can be found in numerous public and private collections, as well as her alma maters.
Adamec moved from Rochester to Syracuse in 1985, and completed graduate-level courses in ceramics, photography, and sculpture at Syracuse University. She learned to weld at a local BOCES class (New York State’s Board of Cooperative Educational Services). The artist demonstrated her welding skills in the “60/60” event at Syracuse’s Everson Museum when 60 artists create an original work of art in 60 minutes.
She recently retired from Westhill High School in Syracuse, where she was an art teacher. A member of the Syracuse Ceramics Guild, Adamec previously served as the group’s president.
Adamec loves nature and enjoys kayaking, camping and biking. How appropriate that her sculpture Freedom Spirit, depicting a red-tailed hawk, was installed in 2009 at the Frank J. Ludovico Sculpture Trail in Seneca Falls. Made of steel, the sculpture is welded in three sections and then attached to a 15-foot pole. The bird’s wings span 10 feet and soar above a marshy area. Grant funds from the Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts paid for some of the materials; others were donated. Her husband Neville Sachs, an engineer, assisted with the design’s structural support. At the nature trail on the south side of the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, the bird has rusted over time. Its striking red form is outlined against the dense vegetation.
Adamec explains the meaning of Freedom Spirit: “Freedom is something birds imply in their use of flight. Freedom is something we all seek.”
What lies ahead: “I hope to be completing additional bird sculptures to go with the current one… I will also be presenting proposals for outdoor public sculptures as well as creating the smaller pieces I so enjoy making.”
To see more art by Carol Adamec go to the artist’s web page: www.adamecart.com.
by Laurel C. Wemmett
