S P I R I T O F A S T U D I O
Photography & Text by C. Whitney-Ward
Artist Bill Georgenes is a very happy man. He gets to play with toys all day long, a simple childhood joy that eluded him because both he and his mother were sent to live in a sanatorium when she was diagnosed with TB. But he's making up for those lost years by plying his amazing eye, heart and talent - he was trained at the Massachusetts School of Art and received an MFA from Yale - to his equally amazing toy assemblages.
When you step into his Santa FE studio/home every surface is 'encrusted' with sculpture - in varying stages of doneness.
But, they all begin with an empty cookie tin and box of toys...
A few pieces will be added...
And then Bill might move on to another in-progress sculpture and another, slowly adding and building, going back again to each one, adding more toys until it's right - like creating a symphony, he says. Then he paints them, first with whatever acrylic paint he has around, and then with a final coat of silver or gold. The wonder is in their detail and how one toy flows into, around and above/below/behind the next and creates a happy whole.
And when Bill gets 'stuck' with a toy sculpture he's working on, he switches artistic hats and works on his paintings - large 'optic' canvases filled with color and texture.
All this is a far cry from his days as an art restorer, repairing Rembrandts and Monets at the Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge, MA. But, I don't think the Toy Master would have it any other way.
Please CLICK HERE to see a wonderful video of Bill and his work.
B I L L G E O R G E N E S
505.989.8289
