Donna Sophronia-Sims lives and works in Birmingham, AL. She received her BS degree from the University of Alabama, and studied graphic design and photography at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. She has shown her work in several galleries across the southeast and has participated in several juried exhibitions and art festivals. Donna’s art work has been in several selective exhibitions: “Art of the Robot,” at the Ocala Museum of Art, Ocala, Florida (2013), and the i.d.e.a. Museum, Mesa, Arizona (2014); and “Upcycled Art Show,” Troika Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Floyd, Virginia (2013). Donna’s shop, “Cast of Characters” is on Etsy.com where she primarily sells her work. Her work is in private collections including those of comedian Rosie O’Donnell, actor Zach Braff, and follk art collector Robert Cargo. Donna received an Award of Merit (2006) at the Great Gulf Coast Art Festival in Pensacola, Florida in November of 2006. Donna’s art work is featured in the new book titled, “ASSEMBLED Transform Everday Objects into Robots”.

“Humor and whimsy was the spark that started me wanting to create my quirky assemblage robots. My imaginary robots take on human, animal, and otherworldly forms. I’m influenced by folk art, masks and sculptures from different cultures, characters and animals from movies and nature, and even by facial expressions and gestures that I see in other people.

My robots are created from old, damaged, rusty discarded and recycled objects made of metal, wood, plastic, and fabric. I tinker with them, trying out different arrangements, until my intuition tells me its right, into one cohesive whole that is humorous and whimsical. I may modify and use only fragments of an object. I find parts for my pieces in antique malls, scrapyards, and online. During this process I consider basic design principles such as, color, balance, size and scale, and harmony.

It’s fun and challenging to figure out the best way to join all the pieces together. Sometimes it’s simple and sometimes complex. My pieces are primarily joined together using nuts, screws, rivets, and adhesives. Steel objects are joined together with weld tacks. I use power tools for drilling or dismantling different parts.

By focusing on ordinary objects I give the observer another view of how these objects can be used to create a work of art.”

Thank you for visiting Cast of Characters!