BREAKING THE MOLD

Braving the wind to break the mold 
The studio of Taos resident + stone artist Britt Brown is open air, all year long

Britt Brown
Captured in Taos by Olga Nazarova
Wearing PS21 by Raquel Allegra

Raquel Allegra Spring 2021 Feature:

A dear friend shared with me the image of an incredible hand carved marble torso.

Something about it took my breath away. The soft curves and the luminescent surface. The way it captured both hard and soft. I imagined what it would feel like to wake up everyday and see that piece in my home - and to have that feeling of strong femininity in my space - as an enduring ode to the dichotomy of the feminine shape presented in this hard stone - a medium that’s been used to capture and tell the story of the human figure for thousands of years, and mostly by men.

So I reached out to the artist, and within a day or so we had decided to create a piece together. She even had a special piece of marble that she’d been wanting to use for some time - and my openness to her using something other than pure white marble made that possible

It’s always so inspiring to see artists in their creative spaces, so on my next trip to Taos we met face to face and sealed the deal.

RA: When did you start to sculpt?
BB: I think I’ve always been a sculptor, but my first real memory of sculpting was during the fourth grade... my mom would pack my lunch with these little cheeses covered in wax and I’d save the wax- by the end of the week I’d have a nice chunk to sculpt with. I was making figures even then.

RA: How do you speak through your work?
BB: Sculpture has been around since before painting. Some of the first sculptures were made as representations of their gods and goddesses and I’m still doing that very same thing. I sculpt heroic women... beautiful, strong, mighty, powerful goddesses.

RA : What is it like to create your artwork outside all year round?
BB: Intense. Exhilarating. Definitely life force enhancing.

RA: Is there anything about the natural environment and elements that is influential?
BB: The wind is a real force. Inside yourself you’re pushing to go further, go deeper, do more, and outside yourself the wind is literally pushing you too and this is all happening in the shadow of the mountain- very humbling.

RA: Where is your happy place?
BB: Covered in dust. Marble dust. Head to toe. Absolutely!