Artist Statement
Bess Corona is a Milwaukee mirrorsmith, ceramics sculptor and 2D artist. At the young age of 18, she was making commissioned portraits in pencil, charcoal and watercolors, one piece being placed into the Huntington Beach Art Center (CA, 1998). During her time at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she won a Frederick R. Layton Scholarship for her work in ceramic sculpture, which involves hand-formed carved organic forms that mimic pods, trees and fungi and incorporate steam-bent grapevine and other mixed media construction. Her 2D and sculptural work draws from her love of the textural details of nature and her appreciation for expressive portraiture. She has also exhibited in the Rosenblatt Family Gallery (2011). She is currently the head of the Mirror Department at Milwaukee design-build shop Scathain and is a master of the craft of making painterly antiqued art mirrors. Her work in Graphic Design allows her to make mirrored signage and other literal graphic forms in patina on glass. She is graduating from UWM in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Art, with a concentration in Design. After this, she has been offered a position assisting an art therapy practice, in which she will facilitate clients in expressing themselves through the conduit of making personal artwork.
Adaptation to COVID 19
When we learned we would be finishing the semester remotely, I went back to full time at my job, which was deemed essential by the Governor’s office because we manufacture components for residential and commercial construction. My already full life got one more layer added on top when my two children also began homeschooling for the rest of the school year. These challenges really pushed me to try to keep my work at a high level of professionalism, while attempting to keep a balance between my school, work, and homeschooling the kids.
