Eric Folsom

Gulfport, FL; Washington DC; Sperryville, VA

Fairgrounds St. Pete Project

Family Reunion, bronze, copper, Acrylic paint, paper clay, wood, plasticine, recycled plastic and found objects
Of his Floridarama contribution Eric Folsom says, “I think of this diorama as ‘A Universal Family Reunion’. An ancient visitor from another planet has returned from the future/past to Weeki Wachee to introduce its youngster to its relatives: the merpeople, reptiles, birds, fish and other fauna and flora of the Floridian peninsula. These flora and fauna are the progeny of an earlier visit by aliens. Maybe these travelers met the missing Sunnymooners, or know of them, because there is a ‘Just Married’ bumper sticker on the spacecraft. The rising of a New Constellation casts an aura of Peace over the scene.” Set in the motel, circa 1960, Eric was inspired by a Dec 12, 1966 St. Pete Times article about UFO sightings. Eric says, “at 13 years old, I was so excited by this news story, and liked to imagine that we had visiting aliens. This childhood memory gave rise to the theme of my diorama.”

Bio

Eric Folsom left St. Pete in 1973 to pursue his self education, his travels leading him to Washington, DC and Sperryville, VA. In DC, his time off from working as a bike messenger was spent in the city’s museums, galleries, concert halls, theaters and libraries. In Sperryville, he lived on a 150 acre commune alongside artists working in leather, textiles, metal and other media. Eric was drawn to the metalworkers and accepted an apprenticeship with bronze and copper metalworker George Anderson to hone his own metal skills. He started exhibiting his work at art and craft shows in 1979 and, to this day, is still making work and accepting public and private commissions using torches, pliers, cutters, grinders and shaping tools to fabricate art from bronze, copper and found objects. His most recent projects have involved recycling bicycle parts to make gates and other sculptural objects.

instagram.com/eafolsom53

7 Questions with Eric Folsom on the Fairgrounds St. Pete blog