Artist’s Statement

Painting is for me a very natural art. Children are naturally drawn to the act of making art as a means of expression and keeping their young minds from being bored. When a child reaches a young age of about 5 or 6 years old, they are told to make art and to draw in a certain way, which starts to place restriction on their minds. They are asked to conform. Most children succumb to the pressure. And those children who don’t—the ones who don’t color in between the lines—are considered outsiders and are not obedient. I believe I am an outsider and after 35 years as a professional artist, still a big child.

Gerald Ferstman
August 1, 2001

Biography

Gerald Ferstman is an associate professor in the University of Kentucky Art Department. His own education includes a bachelor’s of fine arts from Ohio University, where he studied with David Driesbach; an MFA from the University of Washington, where he studied with Glen Alps; and additional studies at the Institute of San Miguel Allende in Mexico.

Recipient of a Huntington Museum Award of Excellence and an Al Smith Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council, Gerald has had works included in exhibits of contemporary printmaking at the Boston Museum; the Seattle Museum of Art; the University of Washington’s Henri Gallery; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Huntington (WV) Museum; the Speed Art Museum in Louisville; the Museum of Modern Art at Casa de la Cultura in Cuenca, Ecuador; and many other regional museums. His works are in the permanent collections at Bradley University and the University of Washington.

As an educator, Gerald also researches and writes about art technique. His article “Not Dying for Their Art: UK Printmakers Create Nontoxic Techniques” was published in Odyssey, the University of Kentucky’s publication on research and graduate studies. Two additional articles that can be found online are Intaglio Technical Information: Etching Procedure and Water-Base Etching Grounds at the University of Kentucky.