Sarah Hempel Irani studied art in the classical tradition at Hillsdale
College in Hillsdale, Michigan under the tutelage of Anthony Frudakis.
She graduated magna cum laude in May, 2000. After graduation, she
went to Maryland in order to work as an apprentice to Jay Hall
Carpenter, former Artist-in-Residence at the Washington National
Cathedral. In 2001, she established a studio in Frederick, Maryland.
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Potomac, Maryland
commissioned Sarah, in collaboration with another sculptor, to create
the fourteen Stations of the Cross. The work took nearly a year to
complete and was installed in May 2002. Two pieces from this project
were part of a traveling exhibition sponsored by the Foundation for
Sacred Arts from August 2008 - January 2009.
In the summer of 2002, she submitted her portfolio to The National
Sculpture Society’s annual National Sculpture Competition. She was one
of ten sculptors chosen to compete in the week-long figure modeling
contest hosted by Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. On the basis of
her portfolio, the National Sculpture Society awarded her the Edward
Fenno Hoffman Prize as the "young sculptor who strives to uplift the
human spirit through the medium of her art."
At only twenty-five years of age, Sarah was awarded a commission to
create two over-life-size marble sculptures depicting Saint Joseph and
the Virgin Annunciate. She articulated each of the sculptures full-scale
in clay and had the plaster casts carved in Carrara marble by a crew of
stone carvers. In 2005, she traveled to Pietrasanta, Italy, where she
oversaw the completion of Saint Joseph at an Italian marble studio. A
dedication mass was held on November 17, 2007 at Our Lady of Mercy
Catholic Church in Potomac, Maryland. Her work on this project was
featured on the cover of Lutheran Forum Magazine in the Winter 2007
issue and Dappled Things in 2008. The plaster cast of the Virgin
Annunciate was exhibited at the Washington Theological Seminary in the
summer of 2007 and is currently on display at the Mother of God
Catholic Community in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Sarah also sculpts life-like portraits for Dorfman Museum Figures in
Baltimore. The Museum Figures company provides realistic “wax
figures” for museums and displays around the globe. She has worked on
living, historic and posthumous portraits. Some of the notable figures
she has done include Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, the first woman to be
awarded a Silver Star Medal for valor in combat, General Lee, a WWII
Military leader, and the ninth Vice President of the United States, Richard
Johnson.
For three years, Sarah worked as the Coordinator of Visual Resources
for Hood College’s Department of Art and Archaeology in Frederick,
Maryland. There she also began graduate work in Renaissance and
Medieval Studies. She is planning a May 2010 graduation.
She currently resides in an old cottage in Grove City, Pennsylvania.
College in Hillsdale, Michigan under the tutelage of Anthony Frudakis.
She graduated magna cum laude in May, 2000. After graduation, she
went to Maryland in order to work as an apprentice to Jay Hall
Carpenter, former Artist-in-Residence at the Washington National
Cathedral. In 2001, she established a studio in Frederick, Maryland.
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Potomac, Maryland
commissioned Sarah, in collaboration with another sculptor, to create
the fourteen Stations of the Cross. The work took nearly a year to
complete and was installed in May 2002. Two pieces from this project
were part of a traveling exhibition sponsored by the Foundation for
Sacred Arts from August 2008 - January 2009.
In the summer of 2002, she submitted her portfolio to The National
Sculpture Society’s annual National Sculpture Competition. She was one
of ten sculptors chosen to compete in the week-long figure modeling
contest hosted by Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. On the basis of
her portfolio, the National Sculpture Society awarded her the Edward
Fenno Hoffman Prize as the "young sculptor who strives to uplift the
human spirit through the medium of her art."
At only twenty-five years of age, Sarah was awarded a commission to
create two over-life-size marble sculptures depicting Saint Joseph and
the Virgin Annunciate. She articulated each of the sculptures full-scale
in clay and had the plaster casts carved in Carrara marble by a crew of
stone carvers. In 2005, she traveled to Pietrasanta, Italy, where she
oversaw the completion of Saint Joseph at an Italian marble studio. A
dedication mass was held on November 17, 2007 at Our Lady of Mercy
Catholic Church in Potomac, Maryland. Her work on this project was
featured on the cover of Lutheran Forum Magazine in the Winter 2007
issue and Dappled Things in 2008. The plaster cast of the Virgin
Annunciate was exhibited at the Washington Theological Seminary in the
summer of 2007 and is currently on display at the Mother of God
Catholic Community in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Sarah also sculpts life-like portraits for Dorfman Museum Figures in
Baltimore. The Museum Figures company provides realistic “wax
figures” for museums and displays around the globe. She has worked on
living, historic and posthumous portraits. Some of the notable figures
she has done include Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, the first woman to be
awarded a Silver Star Medal for valor in combat, General Lee, a WWII
Military leader, and the ninth Vice President of the United States, Richard
Johnson.
For three years, Sarah worked as the Coordinator of Visual Resources
for Hood College’s Department of Art and Archaeology in Frederick,
Maryland. There she also began graduate work in Renaissance and
Medieval Studies. She is planning a May 2010 graduation.
She currently resides in an old cottage in Grove City, Pennsylvania.
Photo credit: Bruce Waldron
| ©2008 Sarah Hempel Irani |
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