Life & Work with Pati Stajcar of Golden

Today we’d like to introduce you to Pati Stajcar.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Pati Stajcar was born in Southeastern Pennsylvania. After more than ten years in the airline industry, she left in 1985 to pursue sculpting as a professional career.
“I have my choice of living anywhere in the world and Golden, Colorado is that place. The abundance of wildlife, sun, snow and art make this the place I call home.”
 Pati consistently wins awards, receives national recognition for her sculpture, and is invited to participate in, and judge exhibitions and juried shows nationwide.
Working in wood, bronze and stone, Pati uses nature as her guide with design, flow, and balance her subject matter.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
People say Oh you’re an artist, you can work anytime you like. I say yes either the first 12 or the last 12 hours of the day. Art is a hard business in which to make a living. Most consider art a luxury item so when the economy turns down so does the income. I consider it riding the wave. When times are good we save as much as possible for when the lull comes so we can still buy those Cheerios.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a sculptor. I mainly work in wood, stone, and bronze/metal. Wood and stone are both subtractive methods, but metal is an additive process, so it’s a bit of a switch in my brain. I spent over 20 years volunteering at raptor educational outreach programs so raptors are my favorite bird to depict, but I love the research that goes into each sculpture I make whether it’s figurative, wildlife, representational through to abstract. I love when someone tells me that my work was their first sculpture purchase and I’m so excited for them as they start that journey. Each of my stone and wood pieces is a one of a kind but the cast bronze are small editions. I usually work in clay for the original, then I make my own molds and pour the waxes. The wax goes to the foundry, they sprue the wax and dip it in ceramic slurry. They fire the ceramic and the wax melts out, where the wax was is where the molten bronze is poured. This is the lost wax method of casting. Most artists have the foundry do all the finish work also but I pick it up from them in parts and pieces. I weld it back together, chase the detail back in and apply a patina

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I like to get things done. If I’m productive I’m happy and then I love to sit and admire the beauty around us. My husband is my best friend. We’ve been living, loving, working and playing together for over 45 years. We enjoy our neighbors, our pets, their pets, the wildlife that is so abundant here, the beautiful sunrises and sunsets and all the natural wonders we see.

Pricing:

• From $900.00-$120,000.00

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stajcar.com

Image Credits
Lightening – Mel Schockner
Balance of Power – Mel Schockner