The late Robin Williams, a collector, described Kit Carson as "Rene Lalique meets Dr. Seuss at the High Noon Bar."
PRESCOTT, AZ, June 16, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Kit Carson has been inducted into Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Kit Carson is a jeweler, sculptor, designer, and collage artist known both for his intricately engraved art jewelry in silver and gold and for exuberant three-dimensional mixed media sculptures that feature "the rusty wabi-sabi" of sun-sanded metal. His work is inspired by the colors, textures. patinas, and wild animals of the American Southwest and influenced by the style of favorite artists including Alphonse Mucha, Albert Paley, and Robert Rauschenberg. He has been featured in many of the finest art galleries and craft shows throughout the United States and is extensively represented in private collections. The late Robin Williams, a collector, described him as "Rene Lalique meets Dr. Seuss at the High Noon Bar."
Kit rode the first wave of the studio crafts movement, fusing traditional artisan processes with business and marketing practices to manage his own retail operations and support himself as a full-time independent artist for over forty years. His journey has taken him from a blanket on the ground at an early 1970's Renaissance Fair to national juried art and craft shows. Including first place awards at the Scottsdale Festival of the Arts (2012), the Beverly Hills Art Show and the Contemporary Crafts Market (2016). He acted as design consultant to Shelby Wilson Architects for over twenty years, creating and installing architectural additions such as sconces, chandeliers, gates, and sculptures. He has been profiled in many different niche magazines including True West, Guitar Aficionado, Western and English. Lapidary Journal, Ornament, Metalsmith, and the Santa Fean. He was the first featured artist on the Peabody Award-winning PBS series Craft in America and is included in Marquis Who's Who in American Art (2020).
He studied art at the University of Oregon and at Yavapai College in Arizona where he credits his first instructor, Dick Marcusen, for instilling in him the value of mastering craft as an end unto itself. "The passion of doing the work is its own reward." he says. "It has sustained me through the years and inspired me to keep experimenting, acquiring new skills, and trying new techniques." Constantly evolving his practice, he studied under master engraver Sam Alphano in 2009.
Today, as ever, Kit is hard at work in his Arizona-based atelier combining his jewelry and sculpture techniques into small-scale wall pieces featuring Arizona birds and the spirits they embody. His current collection includes the "Romantic Rust" series which combines the rugged surface textures of preserved salvage materials with engraving, stone setting, and delicate metal overlays. Large-scale commissioned works include a life-size Wild West gunslinger made from hundreds of rusty relics (2020); a seven-foot tall raven standard (2019); a three-paneled gate with skeletons, ravens, and bats (2018); a ten-foot tall Virgin Mary shrine with a seating feature (2017); and a steampunk electric guitar for the Fender Custom Shop (2014).
A member of the American Craft Council and the Society of American Goldsmiths, he describes his work ethic with his signature dry wit. "Every good artist has a sketchy past," he says. "I work on a piece long enough until it appears to be spontaneous."
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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