Denisa Prochazka, denisa-sculpture.com, is a classically trained figurative sculptor living in Ottawa, Canada, whose passion is creating portrait sculpture and clay reliefs. She has participated in over thirty exhibitions in Canada and the U.S. She has attracted many special commissions including creating Awards of Excellence for the Nelson Mandela Legacy and Ottawa University BHM, Women Excellence Awards, Guinean Excellence Awards and Women Who Work Excellence Awards.
Manhattan Arts International awarded her with the Featured Artist Art Award, Second Place Special Recognition Art Award, and Awards of Excellence. When I asked her to share her evolution as a sculptor, her creative passion, and describe her process, she graciously answered questions and provided photographs that show her mold-making skills.
Enjoy this interview with Densia Prochazka, award-winning sculptor.
Denisa, what is your passion and goal as an artist?
The fascination to create faces and figures, expressing deeply human emotions continues to be a powerful force all around the world. As a female sculptor in the 21st century, I want to continue to speak a universal language that communicates feminine empowerment and strength of spirit. My goal is to bring my art forward to public spaces so that passersby can find peace, beauty and healing connection for a moment in time in their life’s journey.
Where does your creative process originate?
I often let my inspirational visions guide me through the creativity of the final artwork. When that vision comes to me, I already see the finished sculpture in my mind. I loosely begin to sketch it in clay, allowing the creative spirit its freedom to manifest itself. The process of sculpting and being deeply present in the moment feels like bringing a dream to reality. I always remind myself that the learning process never ends and with each new sculpture, I strive to achieve the best version of my ideal vision.
When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
I knew I would be an artist since I was very young. Perhaps it was a very natural path for me, as I could feel my passion for the creative outlet take shape in my early childhood years, growing up in my mother’s ceramic studio in the Czech Republic. I admired my mom, watching her make beautiful vases on the wheel. The feeling of holding clay in my hands, trying to make a specific shape was thrilling, it was my favorite playtime. I was always fascinated by the depiction of human figure and representational art. There was never a shortage of figurative art in public spaces, statues of past kings, angels, fountains and ornamental facades on buildings and inside churches. The solidity of three dimensional art felt powerful and timeless.
I understand your early years were very challenging. How did your upbringing in Czechoslovakia influence your art?
At the age of thirteen, my parents made the decision to escape the political regime of then Soviet occupied Czechoslovakia. Escaping through Hungary to Yugoslavia and eventually to a refugee camp in Austria was a shock from my beautiful childhood security and stability of home. It took nine months to be accepted to Canada. The culture shock of being an immigrant in a new country, not knowing the language, the longing for my old home and way of life, and deeply missing my friends and relatives was a very difficult, lonely and challenging time.
How did you continue your interest in creating art?
The effect of it made me submerge into art even more deeply. Attending a special Fine Arts Program in High School, I spent endless hours drawing, painting and sculpting, quickly becoming one of the top students in my class. I continued my post-secondary studies in Fine Art and Sculpture, graduating from O.C.A.D University in Toronto.
What was a major influence in your sculptural pursuit?
To my great joy and astonishment, I was selected together with 20 students from O.C.A.D University, to complete my post-graduate year in Florence, Italy, studying Renaissance art history and learning to carve marble. Witnessing the awe-inspiring work of Michelangelo, who’s sculptures had a tremendous impact on me, reinforced my love of sculpting the figure. My early childhood experience and love of clay led me back to this medium where I felt a complete freedom of expression through its tactile movement and flexibility, expressing feminine softness and high level of control, manifesting my visions into reality.
Please tell us and show us about the process.
The sculpting process requires not only the ability to analyze a three-dimensional form, volumes, understanding of anatomy and the practice of good technique, I believe the true talent lies in the ability to “see”. The art of seeing what is in front of us and the ability of “seeing” what’s inside of us, being able to translate that vision into clay, is what makes each sculpture completely unique. Like the human imprint of a fingertip, there is infinite variation and possibility of expressing the subtlety of human emotion and movement, to convey the complexity of the human spirit.
What kinds of techniques do you use?
The process of sculpting in clay led me to learn several techniques. The first technique I learned as a child in my mother’s ceramic studio, was the process of firing hollow clay pieces in the kiln.
The application of glazes gives the option and choice to use colors in the finished piece. In school and later on in my career, I learned the process of mold-making, which is very useful for the creation of very large pieces.
When I finish a sculpture in clay, I apply layers of liquid silicone. After each layer dries and forms a unified silicone mold, an outer shell made of plaster called the mother mold is created on top of the silicone to hold it in place. The silicone makes a perfect imprint of the original piece, which can now be cast into many different materials such as hydro-stone, resin, cement or wax for bronze and other metals.
Creating a mold gives me the choice to create one original piece or limited editions of cast sculptures.
The process of mold-making can be very complex, especially in three-dimensional sculptures conveying variety of figures in complex poses and movement.
To me, mastering the art and technique of sculpting is a life-time process and I feel that I have only tapped a surface of its full potential.
What is your definition of success?
My definition of success is to be an inspiration to others, to empower and inspire the feminine balance in this world. To be a visionary of truthful and healing art, to create a universal art form that speaks for itself through metaphoric meaning and symbolism, expressing strong feminine aura with modern thought and psychology of our contemporary culture.
Update December, 2023: Denisa’s sculpture “Love Manifested into Being”, shown below, was selected for “The Healing Power of Art: Love, Peace, Unity & Hope” 2023 online exhibition which I had the pleasure of curating on The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS website. When she submitted her entries she stated, “The need for creation became reinforced with the birth of my own son and the desire to heal, protect and empower. ‘Love Manifested Into Being’ depicts a dream vision of my own family coming into being. The blossoming of a child like a flower, this sculpture is a symbol of unconditional love, beauty, protection, guidance, support and vast responsibility of the growth of another human being. Our fate, our life, our being — intertwined in each other’s hands.”
Visit Denisa Prochazka’s Website: denisa-sculpture.com
Love the pictures of the mold making.
Excellent interview. I enjoyed reading about the sculpting process of Denisa Prochazka.