SHRAY ... A sculptor who does things her own way

Written by Lisa Crawford

Sculpting in a unique and intuitive fashion, Shray creates vital sculpture with strong emotional impact. Her styles range from the contemporary to traditional, but each piece stirs feelings of deep sensitivity.

Shray was born in Virginia to an actor and an artist, then raised on a Colorado sheep farm before moving to San Francisco where she has lived most of her life. Named for her paternal great-grandmother, Shray has grown up honoring her Native American name which means "morning sun" or "rising star".

Shray is gifted with a power combination of an artistic eye and a strong will, which she recognized early in life. In kindergarten she was brought before the principal because she chose not to color within the lines. "I've always been very opinionated," she says, "determined to do it my way. I never bothered to rock the boat, I just jumped ship."

At ten she created a neighborhood newspaper, as well as a coloring book she sent to a San Francisco publisher. At 15, she traveled to Paris with her mother where, inside the Louvre, she discovered "Winged Victory" cresting the marble staircase. "Right then," she says, "I knew I had to become a sculptor."

She graduated early from high school to attend the local junior college, then won a full scholarship to the San Francisco Academy of Art. Disenchanted by rigid adherence to sculptural techniques which fought her own natural style, Shray accepted a grant to attend the San Francisco Art Institute, only to find herself bobbing in a sea of "conceptual" art.

She returned to the Academy of Art, whereupon she found her mentor, renowned artist Patrick Haberman, who set her up in a room and let her explore her own methods of sculpture. She developed her technique under his seasoned eye over the next 2 years. She uses the "subtractionist" method with the clay, pulling the excess clay from the form she envisions, rather than creating an armature and building up the clay.

"The reason my pieces work without armature is because I use a clay with enough integrity to support my figures, and because I always move with the clay, not against it. With the subtractionist method, I have to find the form and let it out--interpret the emotion, then release it. It's not an illustration or a pose or a statement, but rather, it's own identity."

Seven years ago Shray presented her work to Piero Mussi, owner of the Artworks Foundry and Gallery in Berkeley. Immediately impressed by the integrity of her work, he accepted her as a client and began casting her sculptures in bronze. He continues to find fire in her work.

"There's something about touching soft, wet clay--it feels as if it is coming alive in my hands. I am a child again, exposing the image from within. The raw form appears then becomes clear, the spirit of the piece becomes real. Knowing fingers feel the skin and flesh, sensitive emotions emerge. The spirit is freed."

Shray lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and champion Neal, who has researched and developed a 3000 page historical reference on controversial political leader Aaron Burr. Neal is always on hand to lift blocks of clay, transport sculpture, attend shows and critique progress.

This page was written by Valerie Brownrigg. Portions are reprinted from an article by Lisa Crawford Watson for the Alta Vista supplement of the Sunday Herald Magazine.