Solia Hermes works with her hands, and now she’s received one that will help her follow in the footsteps of her parents.
The island sculptor, noted for her welded furniture featuring upturned palms, was the recipient of the second annual Amy Award of $3,000 presented May 2.
“I’m just thrilled that I got this award,” Hermes said. “It was incredible of the Andersons to extend their heart this way.”
The Amy Award, given annually to an artist under age 35, was established by Caren and David Anderson to honor the memory of their daughter, a promising young artist.
“Here I am just preparing for my first one-person show,” said Hermes, whose work will be on exhibit at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts next year. “Now I have $3,000 to put toward materials.”
Hermes called the award a morale-booster at a time when she is grappling with difficult career choices. Like other young artists, she must figure out how to stay creative and still make work for the marketplace.
“I grew up in a home with two artists,” Hermes said. “I saw my parents struggle through my childhood. I thought ‘No way I’m going to become an artist.’”
But Hermes, who was raised on Bainbridge, now shares an island studio space with her parents, sculptor Michele Van Slyke and graphic designer Kent Van Slyke.
Aware of the financial challenges, Hermes gravitated toward making furniture. With work that is somewhere between functional and fine art, Hermes is pulled in both directions.
“It’s always: Do you become functional – do you go into production – or do you go into the gallery scene?” Hermes said.
While researching markets for her work has taken a back seat to producing pieces, Hermes has her eye on foreign outlets – a natural move for an artist with a French mother and a German husband.
For now, she hopes to strike a balance between experimentation and salability.
“I’ve done some public works, like the puzzle-tables for Bainbridge Library and in Poulsbo,” Hermes said. “Right now I’m having the best of both worlds, making private work and large-scale public pieces.
“But I need to keep checks and balances in place, because I don’t want to go down the road to being totally commercial.”
