Margaret Korisheli is a sculptor and teacher who works primarily in steel, bronze, aluminum, and mixed media. She lights up when she finds rusty, naturally patinaed, forlorn, and neglected sculptural objects in scrap piles, nature, and industrial sites.

          Her recent body of work began with forms suggestive of vessels, funnels, and orifices. The original impetus flowed from her reactions to deeply unsettling and often horrific national and world events, and the ensuing creations reflect how being a receptacle for such news feels in the body and psyche. Meanings and reactions fluctuate in a fluid and responsive dialogue with the materials, processes, and formal explorations of volume, mass, and surface treatment.

          Margaret taught part-time in the Fine Arts division at Cuesta College beginning in 1991 and for 11 years instructed a variety of courses including Sculpture; 3-D Design; Sculpture Foundry: Bronze Casting; Drawing; Portfolio: Art History and Art Appreciation. In 2002, she was hired full-time in Sculpture, her primary field.

          She has a passion for facilitating students’ individual expression in both traditional bronze casting and via contemporary techniques. She delights in the classroom dynamic where tools are plentiful, ideas are exchanged, and a supportive environment leads to the vital process of making art.

          Margaret’s work can be seen in the Cuesta College Harold J. Miossi Gallery faculty exhibition through December 8. She also serves as one of three jurors for the upcoming Beacon Art Show at the San Luis Obispo United Methodist Church.