Phil Velikan

Facebook Page:  VIG Publishing
Website:   Find Phil
Twitter:  

Strengths:  Sculpting & Children's Book Illustration
​
Table Demo/Discussion:  Customizing Action Figures
Demo Times:  11:00 & 1:30

About Phil:
I live to create things "out of the ordinary". There is just not enough weird and whimsy in the world anymore. I feel talent is wasted if only used to make marketable widgets, any craftsman can do that. Making something that speaks to someone, that takes an artist, and that is what I aspire to.

I find drawing and painting too limiting in their singlular view. When I visualize something, it’s in-the-round. I want the viewer to experience a piece in it’s entirety, as it was imagined. I consider it a challenge to surprise viewers with little discoveries as they explore my works. I picture the form and how it relates, grows and functions as a whole, from many angles and elevations, not just one locked perspective. I include details near the focus of the sculpt for people to find, making my works interactive. As the viewer wanders around a piece, the small details and discoveries come together as parts of a whole, telling a story.

I work in stages so that individual parts may easily be handled and finessed, only assembling the entire work when all the parts are near completion. I primarily work in 2-part epoxy clay which feathers with water, yet cures to an amazing strength.