Molding Emotion: Meet Brian Grow of the Workhouse Arts Center

Brian Grow must be a sculptor. He has no choice.

Most days you can find Brian Grow building art with his hands in Building 8 of the Workhouse Arts Center. On Wednesday, as Grow sat for Patch to take his portrait, his fingers worked expertly, and within 15 minutes, we witnessed him transform a large inanimate rectangular slab of moist clay into something with a soul.   Grow, 42, moved to Falls Church this spring with his wife and two children. The son of a plumber and homemaker is a graduate of the Tyler School of Art, and most recently spent 10 years teaching at Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia. He works about 30 hours a week at his studio, and his pieces range from $25 to $5,000.  Questions and Answers Patch: When did you know you wanted to be an artist?  Grow: I started thinking …

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Lorton Photos of the Day

Photo of the Day: "Feelin' Older" at the Workhouse Arts Center

"You become what you think about all day long." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Patch stopped by the Workhouse Arts Center to check out the latest pieces on display, and we were struck by "Feelin' Older," a mid-range stoneware sculpture with horse hair by artist Brian Grow. In "Feelin' Older," the man looks stiff and sad, as if he's looking into a mirror and doesn't quite know what to make of his appearance.  "He's just a guy who's not got any hair on top, and he's looking to plug it. And now he's realizing where all the time has gone," said Grow. "So, he's a little depressed." "Feelin Older" is 30 inches tall and is priced at $1,100.  Grow, who moved to Falls Church this spring, spent 10 years teaching at Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia. He works about 30 hours a week at his studio in Building 8 at the …

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