Patricia Goodrich

"Process is key to my work. Sometimes a piece begins with an idea, sometimes with the material itself. I enjoy both the physical work and the mental play. Altered perspective, the juxtaposition of elements or simply sanding stone may result in my next step. Whether stone, steel or wood, pastel or collage, site specific or installation, poetry or prose, I revel in the making."
-Patricia Goodrich

Patricia Goodrich began her artistic career as a poet and eventually expanded her use of media to painting, other forms of writing, and sculpture. Originally she believed that the switch to a different medium wouldn't allow her to be as expressive as her poetry. However, she eventually found that sculpture could be as personal as poetic writing.
Goodrich's sculpture is mostly comprised of found, organic objects like wood and stone. She often juxtaposes them with industrial objects, such as rusty metals. Her initial love of the manipulation of words in her poetry is translated into her love of manipulation of physical objects.

She has multiple poetry publications, including Bone, Flesh & Fur and Voices Underground. She was nominated as the Bucks County Poet Laureate in 2005.

Her sculpture, site-specific work and many installations have been exhibited in around Bucks County and throughout the United States. Although the artist has a deep connection with the Bucks County area, she has also exhibited her work internationally in various countries such as Russia, Lithuania, and Romania.

Education and Training
B.A., Western Michigan Univeristy, Michigan, 1967
University of New Mexico, 1963-1964
University of Northern Colorodo, Greely, CO, 1971
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2003-2004

Teachers and Influences
Bucks County poets Christopher Bursk, Jere Knight and writer Helen Papashvily
Sculptors George Papashvily, Brancusi, Noguchi, and Picasso

Affiliations and Memberships
Board Member of Bucks County Arts & Cultural Council, 2006-2008
Past Board Member of Lehigh Valley Arts Council
Philadelphia Sculptors

Connection to Bucks County
Goodrich has lived in the Quakertown area of Bucks County since 1973, where she began her career in the arts. She lives on a farm formerly owned by sculptor and co-writers George and Helen Papashvily.

Artistic Community
In addition to her Bucks County, Densaburou Oku, Steven Tobin, David and Wendy Ellsworth, Joanne Isaac, Milton Kralik, Priscilla Rosenberger, Ron Bevilaquo, Janet Bishop, Geriann McClaughlin, and Kay Winters are all artists and writers from the Upper Bucks area who are her colleagues. She also recognizes the poet Christopher Bursk for his creation of a community of poets and the Bucks County Poet Laureate program in Bucks County.

Visual Arts Exhibitions
Russian-American Art Exhibition, Yekaterinburg, Federation of Russia, 2008
Inter-Art International 2007, Inter-Art Foundation Galleries, Aiud, Romania, 2007
East and West: Art As a Bridge of Cultures, Russian-American Project, Primorskiy Kray Museum, Vladisvostok, Federation of Russia, 2006
Voices Underground, Installation, VSA International Festival, Washington, D.C., 2004
Voices Underground, Earthwork, Europos Parkas, Lithuania, 2003
Voices Underground, Video, CD, Catalog, Brochure, and Web Work, 2003
Hudson-Volga CONTACT Exhibition, Rivers of the World Conference, Nizhny Novgorod & Moscow, Federation of Russia, 2003
Tri-State Artists Equity, First Prize Sculpture, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
USA Artists, Purchase Prize, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
International Art Ability, Jurors Choice Award & First Prize Sculpture, Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital, Malvern, Pennsylvania

Major Publications
Goodrich, Patricia, Raby, Elizabeth & Ioan, Casandra, Bone, Flesh & Fur, Poems in English and Romanian translation, Petoskey Stone Press, Pennsylvania, 2007
Goodrich, Patricia, Voices Underground, 2004
Goodrich, Patricia, New Mexico Revisited, 2004
Goodrich, Patricia, Mosser Street, Petoskey Stone Press, Pennsylvania, 1995
Goodrich, Patricia, Sidelights, Kali Momma Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1994
Goodrich, Patricia, An Intricate Lacing, Nightshade Press, Tory, Maine, 1992
Goodrich, Patricia, Papered Rooms, Still Waters Press, New Jersey, 1990

Selected Poetry Honors
Bone, Flesh & Fur, Romanian & English Trans Inaugural Reading, Aiud, Romania, 2007
Bucks County Poet Laureate, Pennsylvania, 2005
Geraldine R. Dodge Poet-in-the-Schools, New Jersey, 1987-present
Featured Poet, Dialogue, Smithsonian Public Radio, 1993, 1994
Pushcart Prize nominee Fiction, 1992; Poetry, 1993

Major Awards
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, 1991, 2004, 2005, 2007
Leeway Foundation Window of Opportunity Award, 2003
Vermont Studio Fellowship for Sculpture, 2002
Andy Warhol Foundation Fellowship for Visual Arts Scholarship, 1999
Distinguished Achievement Award, Central Bucks School District, 1997
Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year nominee, Central Bucks School District, 1992

Teaching and Professional Appointments
Central Bucks School District, Pennsylvania, 1987-2005
Northampton Community College, Pennsylvania
Bucks Count I.U. District, Pennsylvania, 1986
Souderton Area School District, Pennsylvania, 1985
DeSales University, Pennsylvania, 1983
Sacramento State College, California, 1966

Collections
Balyaevo State Gallery, Moscow, Federation of Russia
Museum of Contemporary Art & Gallery Inter-Art Foundation, Aiud, Romania
Europas Parkas, Lithuania
State Museum of Nizhny Novgorod (Federation of Russia)
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Bryn Mawr Rehabilitaion Hospital, PA