Crimson Laurel Gallery

Zac Lopez-Ibanez was born December 14th 1983. In his youth Zac was exposed to many different crafts at Penland School of Crafts. In 1995 his mother and him moved to Penland N.C. where she became the gardener for the school. When Zac was not attending class at the Arthur Morgan School. He would spend his free time sitting in Penland's studio’s watching artists who are now well known in their field. Names such as, Hoss Haley, Robert Ebendorf, Elizabeth Brim, and Chris Winterstein to name a few. Unknowingly this exposure would one day be the influences that help drive Zac’s work. In high school Zac began to experiment in metals by taking classes at Cushing academy, in Boston, MA. It was a natural fit. During the rest of high school Zac dabbled as much as he could in metals. After finishing a year early in high school, he did what most kid’s do fresh out of school, go back to school! After half a year in a small college outside Charlotte N.C., it was obvious that it was not the right time. Rushing into a college education made him realize that he would rather work in the real world for a little bit. After a couple of years jumping from job to job he knew something was missing. It was the ability to express. He began to search and was greatly surprised to find that the answer had been there from the beginning, Art! In 2003 Zac set into motion his own art education. He started by taking a blacksmithing class at the John C Campbell School, only to find that his instructor was long time friend Chris Winterstein. This class acted as a catalyst to Zac’s career in art. From then he began to take classes in metals at Penland School of Crafts. While still working odd jobs in different towns he was able set aside time during the year to go there and learn more. This time at art school became an insatiable need to learn. Zac took and assisted classes at Penland till 2006 when he finally made the move. Currently living at Penland, Zac has continued to take and ass ist classes while working for blacksmiths in the area. In the spring of 2007 Zac took a leap by taking a class with production jeweler Deb Karash. The change in scale and daily gratification made jewelry a very appealing change. In the fall of 2008 Zac will be finally going back to school on different terms. He will be attending the Savannah College of Art and Design in metals and jewelry. This continuation of education in metals will be yet another stepping-stone for this aspiring artist.