Zora StClair

Zora Cokes is a sculptor from Atlanta, Ga. She is actively pursuing her sculpture BFA at Georgia State University. Zora has spent time interning at various studios, including Penland School of Craft, Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum, and Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. She is the recipient of the Rising Star Thrive Award and the Penland Pines Scholarship.

My art is often created with the idea of change and its physical and mental impacts on the body. It is important to ask why things force us to grow and change constantly. Although uncomfortable, change is both inevitable and valuable to us. It can make us more resilient humans who choose to solve problems differently. While keeping movement and flexibility in mind, I strive to create pieces that focus on particular aspects and feelings of change through my choice of a wide range of materials. The second aspect of my theme is human spinal cords, as I often find myself gravitating to the idea of the physical curves of our backbone. Your spine is the center axis of energy; your entire being grows around it. To be forced to go through change with a spine that is not intact can be a demanding task. Change can be a lot like a blank canvas or a pile of materials, intimidating. However, once you decide to try to change or choose to begin, you will organically create what your hand has in mind.

Each sculpture serves as a tangible representation of transformation, embodying the contrast of the struggles and beauty that come with change. I work to capture the tension between structure and fluidity, much like the spine—rigid yet flexible, fragile yet strong. By combining cast metals with found objects, the layering of materials, bending forms, and experimenting with textures showcase my aim to visualize how change reshapes us. Just as our bodies adapt to new conditions, my work explores how we navigate the emotional and physical landscapes of transition, embracing the discomfort that ultimately leads to the growth of new sculptures and parts of ourselves.