Art Bio

by Roy Volpe

Birth through 12 - Repressed and while attending a creativity depressing catholic school, convinced my parents to buy me John Nagy’s beginner’s art kit.  After spending every Sunday morning watching his show while working with the kit, I ended up throwing the kit out of our second story window.  I just could not draw.

1957-1963 - Girls, sports and getting through high school.  I did not even try to draw.

1965 - Awakening through chemistry!  Still could not draw but lots of creative things stirring up in my brain.

1969-1971 - Saw a picture of a macrame lamp and started simple macrame knotting.  Self-taught.

1972-1973 - Knotting continues incorporating natural materials into my work.

1975 - Entered my first show with the Woodstock Artist’s Guild show and won second place for “Fromteeththroughtom”

1976-1980 - Created and sold macrame pieces incorporating recycled materials into the pieces.  In 1979 started teaching science in a program for emotionally handicapped adolescents and initiated an art experience in the program called garbage art using materials found in local dumpsters.  Continue to try drawing but am unsuccessful.

1983 - Exhibit “Fromteeththroughtom” in the Mamaroneck Artist’s Guild show and won first place.  I announce to the world that I no longer do macrame but am now a Fiberartist.

1983-2005 - Continue doing fiber art work incorporating more and more found items and doing larger scale pieces.  My artistic endeavors also include my house, water garden features and incorporating items from the environment to enhance the artistic and aesthetic influences of everyday life.  Keep trying but still can’t draw.

2006 - join a group of local community individuals and start a community art center called “Arts on the Lake”. 

5/2007 - Held the first show of work by local artists including my own.

10/2007 - We held a second fabulous show. I exhibited a new piece called “Tribute to Benzaiten”

2008 - I became the visual arts director.  We continued to hold a spring show and fall show each year.

From 2008 through today, I have continued to work on constructed pieces of work from discarded materials. I love what I do and have decided to wait till my next life to try painting again.