Cody Vance

When you start to get to know Cody, you begin to understand what a truly creative human he is. He’s constantly in “go-mode”, working on multiple projects simultaneously, drawing, painting, or merely sitting quietly, designing in his head. This natural (to him) juggling act is what keeps him energized and excited to learn new mediums, materials and processes.

His knack for anything artistic started very early, drawing what he saw around him or working from his imagination. With limited formal training he’s relied on an acute focus and natural ability to quickly grasp new ideas or processes.

An Air Force veteran, Cody enlisted in 1985 and traveled through parts of Western Europe, viewing first-hand some the world’s great art and architecture. A desire to help spread the beauty and emotional pleasure of art he often worked with my military leadership to create murals and other pieces of artwork at various bases. Those pieces of artwork, some still intact to this day almost 40 years past, helped brighten normally drab military surroundings and brought his fellow servicemen a sense of pride. After 24 years of honorable service he retired as one of the top military graphic artists in the Air Force, having won the title of Graphic Artist of the Year in three consecutive years 2007, 2008 and 2009. Upon retirement, he donated over 33 pieces of his original art to the permanent collection of the Air Force Art Program at the Pentagon.

During the apex of his award run Cody bega ... view more »

When you start to get to know Cody, you begin to understand what a truly creative human he is. He’s constantly in “go-mode”, working on multiple projects simultaneously, drawing, painting, or merely sitting quietly, designing in his head. This natural (to him) juggling act is what keeps him energized and excited to learn new mediums, materials and processes.

His knack for anything artistic started very early, drawing what he saw around him or working from his imagination. With limited formal training he’s relied on an acute focus and natural ability to quickly grasp new ideas or processes.

An Air Force veteran, Cody enlisted in 1985 and traveled through parts of Western Europe, viewing first-hand some the world’s great art and architecture. A desire to help spread the beauty and emotional pleasure of art he often worked with my military leadership to create murals and other pieces of artwork at various bases. Those pieces of artwork, some still intact to this day almost 40 years past, helped brighten normally drab military surroundings and brought his fellow servicemen a sense of pride. After 24 years of honorable service he retired as one of the top military graphic artists in the Air Force, having won the title of Graphic Artist of the Year in three consecutive years 2007, 2008 and 2009. Upon retirement, he donated over 33 pieces of his original art to the permanent collection of the Air Force Art Program at the Pentagon.

During the apex of his award run Cody began to feel a change in creative direction was needed. Discovering stone carving, he was fortunate to learn under expert guidance of the late Rachman Ulmer. To say he was hooked immediately would probably be an understatement. Unaccustomed to creating in abstract form, to his surprise he quickly started shaping each stone into beautifully sinuous and flowing pieces. With years of creative experimentation as his foundation, he realized that everything he had learned up to that point had prepared him for sculpting. Now, over 15 years have passed and with over 200 individual sculptures created, he continues to expand his creative boundaries, recently adding steel sculpture, bronze and printmaking to his toolbox of creative disciplines.

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Artist Statement of Work

Tell us about your work (style, approach, philosophy, subject and/or theme):

Being a sculptor is sexy! Especially when considering carved stone. In my style, this practice demands a respectful conversation between stone and carver to coax and massage energetic ribbons out of marble, onyx and alabaster, to twist and turn like a wild roller coaster ride. Sinuous and ribbon-like, they move with mind bending beauty and can trick the eye into forgetting their nature, some even appearing as if scooped like ice cream.

Growing up without a discernible creative community or mentors, I was forced to learn by experimentation, trial and error. After many years of drawing and painting experimentation, I finally found my true calling in stone carving, and with this new discovery came a community of its very own. My early years remembered, my goals are to continue to build and expand this community, push creative boundaries, and experiment with new friends, ideas and materials.