DISCOVER WHY IT'S GOOD TO BE "WILD AT ART"
Featured Artist, Ben Kolb of Nativibes
Nativibes Studio & Art Gallery,
Mannington, WV
Artist Statement
For as long as I can remember, I have retreated to sketching, carving and painting, along with other forms of art and sculpture to express myself in a natural way. I am a passionate, versatile, nature-craving, folk-expressionist artist with an insatiable appetite for the exploration of the earth, and the creation of art that is as unique as my clientele. I put my heart and feelings on canvas and hang it up for anyone to see, feel or share. With the big question being not how many judges did I win over with my technical prowess, but how many souls can I touch and make feel what I felt when I was creating the piece.
Over the years, I have gravitated to studying native and aboriginal cultures for the ways their spirituality and connection with the natural world comes out in their art, and even in the everyday tools that they adorned and revered; they were so important to life for the people that used them. This is in direct contrast to the disposal nature of today's societies and the things we take for granted. When I transform a piece of bone that I have found into a necklace or flintknap, a rock into a knife or arrowhead, I can remember fondly the outdoor adventure that led me to it. I believe that the positive energy stays with the piece and is passed on to the new owner, which is something I call "Nativibes."
My inspiration and subject matter has always been the natural beauty that surrounds me during my travels. The mountains, streams and lakes that are part of my blood come out in every piece that I create. It is my hope that when each of my clients take a piece of my work home, that they to get to experience the joy that created it and discover why it's good to be a little "Wild at Art."