Ginna Brand

Ginna grew up in a small town on the Ohio River south of Pittsburgh in the 1930’s. After a year at Edinboro State Teachers College she transferred to Kent State University earning a degree in art education. While at Kent she met her husband, David Brand. They had a son, Greg, and six years later their daughter, Claudia. Claudia and Ginna started school at the same time – Claudia entering first grade and Ginna the Cleveland Institute of Art, where she received a degree in painting. She was hired by the late Marjorie Talalay to create and teach an art education program for the New Gallery (now MOCA).

Her studio work eventually evolved from painting to creating small sculptures using a glue gun and discarded plywood. Unlike a designer, who first plans on paper, Ginna works directly with the wood using shapes and lines to create abstract sculptures that hang on the wall. This process often creates options that can lead to more sculptures. Her pieces entitled Generations were created in this manner, thus exemplifying her process of creation. Both the process and the wood generate new work. With the help of an assistant she acquired professional woodworking tools and expanded both the scope and size of her sculptures. One of her larger sculptures is part of the Putnam collection at CWRU and hangs in the lobby of the Olin Building, the engineering school.