Isaac Prior


Raised in Ames, the heart of Iowa, with a background in Graphic Design, and jewelry fabrication, repair and design. Creating and designing have always been the main focus of life choices. My main focus is Abstract Line Art and using the style to create flowing organic pieces. I have been employed as a Bench Jeweler for 10 years, and that has given me the abilities to create intricate jewelry with gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

My early career had a focus on video game design, and character creation. I won an award for a wax sculpture “World Wings” a dragon. It stands approximately 10 inches tall, 24 inches wide, and 36 inches in length. Being a video game character designer is a competitive and unstable field, and I abandoned it to peruse jewelry design. I started with wire wrapping with brass, copper, and some sterling silver. Using rough gemstones and high tension I created pieces with duality and dimension. The perfect patterns of the wire contrasted the rough faces of the gemstones. I applied to a local jewelry store, Ames Silversmithing, and was hired on in September of 2014.

Mythology and strange otherworldly themes have always influenced the fabrication of artwork. I stumbled upon Abstract Line Art in 2016 and immediately fell in love with the style and haven’t turned back since. I am pulled to detailed and intricate work. I find myself looking for the fine details in life and building out from there. Most of my drawings start with some small element and multiply exponentially. I have a fascination with space and cosmic horror. There are realities upon realities out there in the vastness of the universe, where almost anything is possible. Norse mythology and folklore are also a big driving point of creativity. Its so rich, strange, and twisted; yet also lighthearted and funny.

My artwork has traveled around the country, from Minnesota to Arizona. A few notable places I have had my art featured:

  • Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Into the Blue, June-September 2019

  • Polk County Heritage Gallery, Greater Des Moines Exhibited, Annual XXVI Gallery November 2019- January 2020

  • Luna Llena Gallery, Tucson Arizona, February 2020

  • Abstract National, Mark Arts, Wichita Kansas, July 2020

  • Iowa State Fair, Fine Arts Gallery, 2023

  • Hopkins Center for the Arts, 29th Annual Arts North Gallery, January 2024

  • Octagon Center for the Arts, Composition of Line, August 2024

Cats

I have four cats! I am a very proud feline father. My cats are a very large influence on my work. Whenever I am in my studio doing any work or drawing, I have at least one of them with me. Either sitting in my lap or occupying the cat beds that are available for them.

From left to right: Mushi, my midnight man. I found him as a kitten under a porch and since then I am his one and only.

Bjorn, the brainless. He is an orange man, and is no exception to the orange cat rules. He shares one braincell with all other orange boys, and is very silly.

Ginkgo, the kindhearted. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, and is the most gentle old man.

Amaru, the abomination! As a kitten she had an extremely bad upper respiratory infection and it took most of her vision. She is an extremely vocal and needy baby. Fearless and bull headed, she charges through life.

Artist statement

What if? That questoin has always been a driving force of inspiration. If there could be a creature on this planet that can create light, with a chemical reaction in its thorax to attract a mate (a lightning bug), or the ability for a fungus to infect the brain of an ant, and turn them into a mindless, light seeking, insect (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis), why couldn’t there be a tortoise so large it could have a mountain on its back, or a bird that has command over fire? The universe is limitless and the thought of what is possible is

incomprehensible. With my art I focus on this and expand it even into the abstract realm of creativity.

With my artwork I try and create a feeling of serene beauty, as well as raising an eyebrow to get people thinking about the “What If?” I use a variety of materials but I have found a passion for pen and ink. It’s an unforgiving medium, but stunning and precise. Mistakes are easily seen and are hard to cover up. Most of my artwork doesn’t happen quickly, I spend weeks and sometimes months creating a piece. Some pieces have well over thirty hours of work in them.

I do not see art as a choice or as something that can be ignored. All humans are creative and show creativity in different ways, and if looked at every profession or line of work is creative. Art isn’t something that I choose to do, art is something that I am compelled to create. It is second nature, just like why a fish swims, it is its way of being.