Rebecca Rose

Rebecca “Rose” Michelle Downin (born September 18, 1980) is an American sculptor.

Rose works primarily in small-scale sculptural jewelry, which she calls "Sculpturings". She began sculpting at the age of 19 and created her first Sculpturing in 1999. She attended college under a full tuition art scholarship and received a BFA degree in 2001 from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Early life

Rebecca Rose was born in Mesa, Arizona, United States, to American parents, and her ancestry can be traced to the Daughters of the American Revolution. She adopted the professional name “Rebecca Rose” in tribute to her mother, Michelle, who tended roses in Mesa. In her adolescence, her behavior and art was often misunderstood by her family. It was at NAU that she saw the similarities between sculpture created in the foundry and cast jewelry, the only difference between the two being that one of the forms is heavier and more apt to be immobile and decorative, while the other form is smaller and more apt to be mobile and functional. breast cancer awareness, and children's charities. The piece "Inspiring" (2011) is draws on the graffiti/street-art movement. The three spray-paint nozzles mingled with the three brushes signify the birth of the [street art] movement. Banksy is represented by the rat, Mr. Brainwash is represented by the brain, and Shepard Fairey is represented by the fairy wings on top of the spray can. The show drew much critical and controversial attention as a response to the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, CT.

Found objects

Rose has often made use of found objects in her work, and creates each detailed ring out of a myriad of random items and toys from the large collection of found objects accumulated in her studio before she begins creating a cast out of wax.

Installations and large sculpture

In 2001, for her thesis at Northern Arizona University, she built an interactive, life-size, 30’ x 15’ x 8’ installation called "The Unabridged Paper Doll Diner" (2001), and after creating large, space-eating sculptures, she realized she had to go that large to go so small with her rings. Her collections of small sculptures represent current world events or social issues in a miniature artistic sculpture bound to a finger ring.

Awards

In 2011, Rose was one of four finalists selected for a nationwide art competition by Renee Vara of Vara Fine Art NYC. She has since exhibited her work in the National Juried Group Show at the Phoenix Gallery in the Chelsea District of New York City. In 2013, she was selected for the Society of North American Goldsmiths and Crafthaus Scholarship where she instructed fellow artists on how to "Show Publicly & Build a Legacy Privately". In December 2012, her work was selected for Cream, an exhibition held at Mother Falcon Gallery showcasing "the cream of the crop, La creme de la creme, the cream of the cream, the best of the best, the best of Orlando artists." Rose's work has been commissioned and privately owned throughout the United States, Canada, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, and England. and Andrew Lincoln, an actor from the AMC television series The Walking Dead.

Influences

Rose repeatedly credits Sam Wagstaff as an inspiration for her silver work. She takes note of the advances he made bringing photography into the limelight as an art form and was greatly influenced by his plans to do the same with silver sculpture. but AIDS took his life before he could see it manifest. from which Rose was inspired to make his dream a reality.

Rose often relates the movie Johnny Tremain (Film), which she watched in her youth, as another major influence in her life.