Trudi’s unique indoor-outdoor metal sculptures begin with an inspiration, usually from the natural world. Using oxygen and acetylene gases, Trudi combines nonferrous metals to create her one-of-a-kind works of art. The colors are achieved by using various chemicals to create patinas. The three metals of choice arerecycled copper, brass and nickel silver. She uses them because of their inherent rustproof properties and the ease in which they respond to chemical coloring.

 

The sea has played a major role in Trudi’s life. A native of the small coastal town of Manasquan, New Jersey, she earned a degree in art, concentrating in sculpture, from James Madison University in Virginia. She later studied sculpture and architecture at the University of Maine, Augusta. After moving to St. Croix in 1971, marine life captured her imagination and she took a course in reef life from the West Indies Laboratory of Farleigh Dickenson University in 1972.

 

Hurricane Marilyn blew Trudi to Ennis, Montana in 1996 — but island life continues to influence her work. She has been commissioned to do various sculptures, wall reliefs and fountains throughout the Virgin Islands, the Caribbean and the East Coast of the United States. Her work is in collections in South America, Canada, Europe, the United States and the Caribbean.

 

To learn more about the metal sculptures of Trudi Gilliam, or to commission a work by her, contact Gallery St. Thomas.