James Surls (b. 1943) is a multidisciplinary artist from Terrell, TX. After graduating from Sam Houston State Teachers College and the Cranbrook Academy of Art, he went on to teach at Southern Methodist University and found the Lawndale Alternative Arts Space at the University of Houston. Surls is best known for his wooden sculptural works, in which he carves and shapes branches to create messages reliant on natural forms.
For more information about James Surls, please see the following:
Surls, James. Walking See Flower, 2001. Painted steel. Davidson College.
James Surls: Rolling Flower video with the artist on his sculpture at the University of Wyoming Art Museum in 2010.
James Surls - Holding the Years: The Splendora Dream video on the artist and his wife's Splendora studio from Cut to Create in 2019.
50 Wings - The art of James Surls (Documentary) on the artist and his artistic process by Maitland Lottimer in 2020.
James Surls Talk with the artist on his exhibit at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK in 2015.
Studio Session | Flower Vessels Inspired by James Surls instructional video for a Surls-inspired craft from Public Art UHS (University of Houston System) in 2023.
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