October Artists

Please visit the Psalm Visual Arts Gallery during October for a wonderful experience in creativity. Dave and Sandy Walker led the creative team for the Salem Riverfront Carousel and are sharing their woodcarving and painting work with us.

Artists Statement:

Making things beautiful…reflecting God’s Glory. These are the artistic goals that Sandy and Dave Walker have set for themselves as they apply their abilities to explore subject matter in the mediums of wood and paint. They like to take an image from nature and combine it with a truth from Scripture to make a visual metaphor that will allow the truth to be contemplated and remembered.

As a couple, they have found joy in simple materials and tools, working directly with their own hands. Wood is a tactile, warm and lasting sculpture medium. Blank paper combined with brush or pen has infinite possibilities.

This is the story of their artistic journey…
Sandy was trained as a commercial artist in her younger years, but worked in other fields, serving people with disabilities. Dave was a bread route salesman who had recently lost his wife of 27 years. God brought Sandy and Dave together because He had something new in mind for them.

As a boy, Dave watched his dad make pine and cork hunting decoys. A gift of a mallard decoy and Sandy’s encouragement inspired him to try his hand at woodcarving. Early in 1988 a captivating hobby was born.

With Dave carving and Sandy as designer and painter, a unique style began to emerge. They began making and selling waterfowl, herons, birds of prey, and eventually, carousel horses. In 1996 an unexpected opportunity opened up for them to become the leaders and designers of Salem’s Riverfront Carousel project. Creating and fashioning a whole carousel took a lot of community involvement, creativity, and perseverance, and five years of effort. It was a grand adventure and the carousel has become the gem of the Riverfront Park.

In the years since, the Walkers have been teaching in their home studio as well as producing art for sale. In 2008, Dave was commissioned to do the chapel carvings for the new Salem Hospital facility. They are currently exploring relief carving further, and Sandy is starting to pursue her long-time desire to do watercolor painting.

 

Psalm Visual Arts Gallery Archive (2011-2012 school year):