- My suspended sculptures blend art, science, spirit and story.
Elayna Toby Singer with ReTooled
Each piece’s balance and movement stirs from the center, inviting viewers to connect with their own emotional, physical and spiritual core. Twirling and dancing with the air around us, energy shifts, ruach (spirit in Hebrew) awakens, transformation occurs. Combining re-imagined and repurposed materials imbues new layers of meaning into the objects themselves and generates a dynamic synergy among the distinct elements.
A single object’s shape, color and texture instantly arouse my artistic vision around which a composition’s design and aesthetic is built. When working on commissions, I often incorporate items with special meaning provided by the client to create a highly personal and distinctive artwork.
Since grade school I’ve felt an affinity with Africana cultures. Integral to my identity, indigenous cultural sensibilities infuse my art-making. Ancient and tribal essences permeate many of my designs.
Both a hunter and gatherer, the thrill of the finding natural and human-made objects ignites my creative process. Combing flea markets, garage sales, construction sites and neighborhood streets for unique pieces, I combine vintage tools, construction debris and found objects with natural materials, gemstones and ethnic beads to create one-of-a-kind mixed media designs. Wherever I go, I’m always collecting plant materials I spot laying in medians, parking lots and abandoned city lots.
