Gary Colson

Gary Colson was raised in the Shenandoah Valley. He has recently retired from teaching art and lives in Culpeper VA with his wife Cindy. Gary’s artistic focus has been on large outdoor sculptures in stone. He completed a twelve foot tall monumental work in Limestone called the Outer Banks Totem in 2009. Gary’s experience includes several other commissioned stone sculptures (garycolson.net). To further his professional growth, Gary traveled to the historic Italian village of Pietrasanta, Italy for a six-week sabbatical in November 2008. Gary studied marble carving by timeless artisans and observed their secret processes in Pietrasanta. This small village is where Michelangelo quarried stone and even today there are more than twenty working stone carving studios in operation. Gary lists his mentors as Frederick Hart and Constantine Seferlis. Hart and Seferlis were artistic contributors to the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

Education

1995 – 1999     Master of Interdisciplinary Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

1988                 B.A., Studio Art, Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA

1984                 Strasburg High School, Strasburg, VA

Teaching Experience

1997 – 2022 Art Teacher, Liberty High School, Fauquier County, VA

Summers               Sculpture Instructor, Lord Fairfax Community College,

2003- 2005             Middletown, VA

Summers Art Instructor, The Governor’s School for the Visual &

1994 – 2000 Performing Arts, University of Richmond, VA