Ronnie Spann

I am a natural born artist who has studied and practiced multiple mediums throughout the course of my life. I started off as a sketch artist with a dream of becoming a comic book artist, and this persisted until I was introduced to ceramic sculpture in high school. I had a talent for sculpture, and under the direct tutelage of my teacher Vern Andersen, I grew rapidly as a sculptor.

Following high school, as I entered my adult years, I began to take part in the local graffiti art scene. I helped various artists with installation pieces and murals through Intermedia Arts but never pursued my own residency. In 1997, I taught a ceramics class for youth through the Inner City Youth League in St. Paul. Later that year, I received a request from Leola Seals, who at the time was the apartment manager for Legacy Village Apartments in north Minneapolis, to do a project with 12 neighborhood youth painting the trash receptacles on Plymouth Ave. The project included a small piece on me and the project in the Southside Spokesman newspaper and an unveiling event.

I began jewelry making at age 23, and it became my primary artistic focus for the last 20-plus years, primarily dealing with copper and silver wire-wrapped jewelry. I have a background in ceramic and metal sculpture, drawing and painting, songwriting, and music.

I have recently begun training as a blacksmith, taking classes whenever I have the time. Most recently, I have thrown myself into the area of metal casting, smelting, and mold making.