Octavia Proca,who was born in Timisoara, Romania in 1950 is not only an accomplished sculptor but also holds a degree in philology, the science and study of language.

Her first commission, appropriately enough, was for a bust of Shakespeare for the Dept. of English, University of Iasi. She then took part in numerous group shows but also found time to sing with a jazz band and bring up twin daughters on her own after her husband's death in 1978. In 1993 she was invited to Ireland to assist in the formation of the Art Centre at Castle Leslie and is now a member of the Sculptor's Society of Ireland and the Artists' Assn. of Ireland.

In 1994 she was awarded a Diploma of Honour at the Grand Prix International d'Arts Plastiques in Nice and in 1996 held an exhibition of sculpture and paintings on glass at the Alliance Francaise, Dublin. In 1996 she also emigrated to Canada. "I look upon art as a form of meditation on the human condition, with the artist and his work as the mirrors which reflect it."

Although she says she is interested in experimenting with new materials, her favourite medium is stone. For her, the act of direct carving is a unique experience that connects one to one's work and stands as a metaphor in which, as she says, "the agony and the ecstasy" of creation meet in a sublime way.

The Sculptor's Society of Canada