Craig Pleasants Studio Dedicated
On March 26, following the VCCA spring board meeting at Mt. San
Angelo, the VCCA community gathered to honor Craig Pleasants with the
dedication of a visual art studio in his name. VA6 will now be known as the
Craig Pleasants Studio.
A
beloved member of the VCCA Family, Craig first came to work at VCCA in October
1989. He and his wife, Sheila Gulley Pleasants (VCCA's Director of Artists'
Services), raised three daughters in the Studio Barn apartment where they lived
for 17 years, before moving off the property in 2006.
An acclaimed sculptor, Craig brought an artist’s sensibility to
VCCA along with vision, hard work and dedication, building relationships with
organizations, supporters, and artists including Cy Twombly and the Twombly Foundation,
the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation, the Heinz Endowments, the Geraldine R. Dodge
Foundation, Cave Canem, and Riverviews Artspace. His research and
proposals also helped VCCA to secure the Governor’s Award for the Arts and the
gift of the Moulin à Nef Studio Center in Auvillar, France, as well as over $3
million in support for VCCA’s ongoing operations.
Since stepping down from VCCA, Craig has been devoting himself
to his own work including Sculptorhouse.com, an art and design venture he
started several years ago. With a sculpture practice that has long focused on
shelter and alternative methods of creating housing, Craig has naturally
evolved it into an actual kit house, the OLU or Octagonal Living Unit. A hybrid
between sculpture and architecture, the OLU can be used as a small living
space, a guesthouse, an artist’s studio, or emergency housing.
In speaking about VCCA, Craig’s devotion to it is clear:
“I have loved this organization and the contact with the wonderful, brilliant
people it has brought into my life.” Our Fellows far and wide can identify with
his sentiments.
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