We were lucky to catch up with Donna McCullough recently and have shared our conversation below.

Donna, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I grew up around very creative people and realized very early that I wanted to be an artist. My mom, grandmother and great grandmother were painters. Mom taught art lessons in our home when I was in elementary school and went on to teach art in a private high school along with being a member of several galleries. She made fabulously elaborate Halloween costumes! My parents would always win best costume at the parties they went to. Dad was also very creative as a carpenter.
My grandmother taught my sister and me needlework, mom taught us how to sew and we were entering the County Fair art competitions as early as 7 years old.

In high school, my mom told me “the only way you’ll earn a living as an artist is if you learn graphic design.” So I went to a community college and studied “Applied Arts” — that’s what it was called back then. I took electives in painting, and 3D design and was able to exhibit my work at a gallery. After graduating, I began my career as a graphic designer, working in retail packaging company. We designed shopping bags and packaging for stores all over the world including Bergdorf Goodman many more. It was fun and creative!

Donna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

In 1995 I woke up with “a burning desire to weld,” inspired by the work of Deborah Butterfield and Degas. I decided to go part time at my graphic design job, took a welding class at Corcoran College of Art and began sculpting.

My very first two pieces were a horse head (I loved horses) and a life size german shepherd that I did in honor of my wonderful dog Rudi who had just passed away. I still create horses, dogs, and birds mostly in steel but have also used travertine, marble and wood.

My working life as a graphic design sparked the dresses that I am known for. After one of many incidents of sexual discrimination I had experienced over the years in my working life, I sketched a dress, representing armor, as protection, as a vessel to hide in, and as a costume to exhibit the expected demeanor needed to navigate the corporate and social spheres of the modern world. I turned that sketch into a series called Beneath the Surface. My very first dress series! Many more series followed. It was a way that I could express myself that many other women could relate to. Over time my work has evolved into celebrating distinctly female influences in my own life along with the universal theme of empowerment. In recent pieces like “Freedom” and “Lift,” in fact, the winged bodies practically take flight: wall-mounted, with powerful wingspans, they symbolize the potential for metamorphosis and renewal, particularly after a period of strife.

Crafted of steel and embellished with flourishes of wire mesh, screening, cut-outs and bits of found objects, the dresses are at once both elegant and imposing. I use steel and various found metals including tin cans and vintage oil cans. Nearly all of the materials I use are recycled. I like the duplicitous nature of steel which can be manipulated to appear feminine and soft while actually maintaining its strength and rigidity—an expression in contrasts and complements. Through the dresses, I am combining opposites to activate harmonious and ethereal beauty.

Each piece takes shape out of my imagination and I feel that they are fresher and more alive because of it. I become immersed in the process and just allow it to happen. Each part building upon the other, becoming a joyous, mystical journey that is a surprise at the end.

I work in series, often revisiting a series if I have more to express on the subject. A few have been Beneath the Surface, The Drill Team (created from vintage oil and gas cans), and Story Dresses. Garden Girls began as a reflection on how people in our lives who have passed away still reside in a garden full of memories. Currently I am working on Flow (getting into the flow of life) and Rise (a powerful wall hung winged series).

I create interior and exterior work, corporate and residential and am happy to do custom commissions.

My work is collected throughout the US and across the world. I am so happy that people respond to my work. I have a show opening on September 30 at Morpeth Contemporary in Hopewell, NJ.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I go through periods where I get caught up in everyday chores and don’t make time to get into the studio. As time goes by, it gets harder to make myself venture in. When I do, I always wonder why I resist!

It is wonderful to lose myself in creating! I always feel so much better when I am in my studio working on new pieces. Art is a fabulous salve for the soul and whatever ails you

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I took a leap of faith to begin my sculpture journey. I wanted to learn to weld and try sculpture so I went part time in my graphic design job. It meant a cut in salary and no guarantee that my sculpture career would be successful. It was a scary decision for me at the time. I was driven however, and made the choice and am happy that I did.

As a fine artist, one of my blocks was not having a 4 year degree much less a masters. At times, some insinuated that I wasn’t a “professional” artist because I didn’t do art full time. I bothered me and I discounted myself for a time. As I grew and developed I realized that those things did not make me a lesser artist. Recently, I read Rick Rubins’ book “The Creative Act.” He mentions that having a job takes the pressure off of having to totally support yourself with your art. That allows you to be totally free to create. I agree! There is no shame in not fully supporting yourself with your art. My graphic design job was creative in a more structured way and in a large part was a stimulus for my sculpture!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mcculloughstudio.com • https://www.donnamccullough.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donnamccullough.sculptor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mcculloughsculpture/
• Other: https://www.morpethcontemporary.com/donna-mccullough I have a show coming up at Morpeth Contemporary, September 30 – October 22, 2023

Image Credits
Images by Donna M. McCullough, Walter Calahan and Morpeth Contemporary