About Me
Always in a State of Flow
As a multidisciplinary artist, I am investigating the psychology of transformation through the integration of painting and sculpture. My practice is grounded in an exploration of emotional and environmental shifts, utilizing layered textures and metal leaf to evoke organic movement and visual depth. The application of metal leaf creates a surface that captures light unpredictably, suggesting molten transformation and inviting contemplation of the fluid nature of change.
Rooted in a personal search for peace and contentment, my work draws on the natural world as a metaphor for emotional experience. The changing sky, the turbulence of weather, and the erosion of form all inform a visual language that reflects resilience, transition, and renewal. These themes are embedded within the physicality of the materials and the compositions themselves.
Each title functions as a journal prompt—guiding viewers toward self-inquiry—while the visual elements elicit emotional engagement. In this way, the work serves as a psychological vehicle, offering an accessible space for reflection on personal and collective transformation.
By blending visual disciplines and embracing material experimentation, I seek to contribute to new modes of artistic thinking—where emotional resonance, aesthetic exploration, and the possibility of change converge to inspire dialogue and action.
Brief Bio
Valerie Ostenak, an Arizona native, is a painter and a sculptor currently focusing on conceptual abstract painting incorporating metal leaf. She is a colorist with spatial awareness who incorporates light and movement into her paintings.
In 1982 Ostenak was one of the few women to take up blacksmithing. Forged steel became the focus of her signature flowing sculptures and art jewelry. Published in art jewelry and blacksmithing books, interviewed by National Geographic for their education website, partnered with Rolls Royce Automotive, Ostenak has taught metalsmithing workshops at universities and associations nationwide.
Honors: • Multiple painting purchases by the New Mexico Art in Public Places Program • Selected by the UN Environment Programme and the Climate Museum to have a painting printed on a 5'x 8' flag flown over Rockefeller Plaza • Invited by Rolls-Royce Automotive to partner with them for their North American Owner's Meet in Lake Tahoe • Saul Bell Jewelry Design Award Finalist–Alternative Materials • Artistar Jewels Exhibition, Milan Fashion Week, Italy (multiple years) • Centurion Luxury Jewelry Show–International Emerging Designer Award • Halstead Jewelry Design/Business Development Grant.
Inspiration / Series
I am visually inspired by the rich colors of oceans, forests, and flowers, by the perfect curve in the shape of a wave, the winding tendrils of vines and how they connect to everything around them. I am intrigued by Space visually and metaphorically. Images from the Webb and Hubble telescopes utilizing UV and IR filters show us billions of galaxies and richly colored nebulae. Though separated by incomprehensible distances, they are the light within the darkness.
Conservation and environmental issues relating to bees & pollinators, forests, and oceans are a deep interest of mine. A percentage of sales from these series—For the Bees, Forest Bathing, Listening to Water—go to the respective agencies I support : Project Apis m., National Forest Foundation, and Ocean Conservancy.
Entities I Support
