An image of a man with a tattoo sitting at a table.

Olie P. Sylvester III

  • 1. Abstraction of form is one way I work. I begin with a recognizable form and work to change it from basic, recognizable subject to a hint of that initial reality. The end result is not something I plan as much as it is a happening of loose directives arriving at a creation that, to the viewer, has a sense of the original form, but now, in the end, a new beast. This new rendering offers up an image reality based on a recognizable form that is, a revised form pulled through a lens built from chance and instinct.

    2. Automatism for me is part science, part art, and very dear to my heart. I keep my personal wants and desires in check as I allow the picture plane to grow with line, form, and color. As a practitioner of this method for many years, I’m more of a conduit to happening than I am a director of technique when working in this mode. This form of creation takes the unmeant and declares it worthy. This is my primary mode of creation.

    3. Found object sculpture takes the discarded and carves a space for it as a wanted thing in the world. From detritus to desired, these sculptures bring life to the discarded bits and pieces of the world around us, forever transforming them from unwanted to meaningful.

    Follow my art on Instagram.

  • These pipes speak for themselves, most of the time. Here is the history of Olie’s line of pipes, Monstrosity Pipes, founded in 2008.

    Olie often travels to the Chicago International Pipe and Tobacciana Show and loves connecting with those interested in pipes and the pipe carving community.

    Here’s a video by Hobbiton Piper discussing one of Olie’s pipes.

    Follow Monstrosity Pipes on Instagram.

  • Personal
    Olie Sylvester studied painting and earned a B.F.A. in graphic design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. His work has been featured in solo shows, group shows, and juried exhibitions. He lives in Auburn, Georgia, and creates daily.

    • Pipe & Tamper Podcast
      48m | Jan 1, 2020
      Artisan Spotlight with Olie Sylvester
      2-year old became fascinated with pipes and how that same 12-year old turned his passion of art into carving his own brand of very unique smoking pipes. There's no QTR or Behind the Pipe in this episode because it's Just the Interview.