Studio Closed

Studio Closed | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

Just a reminder that the studio is closed until May 7th!

Any online shop orders placed before then will ship out when we reopen.

I will have limited access to wifi, but promise to get back to you as soon as possible!

Thanks!

-j

 

New Video: Time Lapse Installing the Rock Candy Series

I realize that my Dirt posts are time-lapse video heavy this week- sorry if it’s too much speedy craziness for you!- but it’s really the best way to share 3 full days of installing a show condensed down into mere seconds. And this one is kind of special because it’s the resolution of my total snafu.

On the morning of day one, I realized I left two boxes at my studio (a 7 hour drive away), BUT by the end of day one, thanks to my amazing studio assistant Nina, they were already packed up and on their way to me. They arrived at 4:30pm on day three and with the help of museum curator Mark they were up on the wall in less than an hour. An amazing recovery for what could of been an epic fail.

The show opens for April’s First Friday… wish me luck!

Taking the Show on the Road!

I hit the road on Monday with the van fully packed with art and headed north to Oregon. The Grants Pass Museum of Art is a beautiful second story space in the downtown area and I’m grateful to show my work here. All the work arrived safely – except for one snafu- I realized I left two boxes behind in the studio! Luckily they are being shipped up here and will arrive in time for the opening of the show – whew! After a year of planning and a tiring day one of install, a lot of the work is ready to go and I’m really happy with the way it’s turning out. I’ll post more photos and videos of the install as things develop!

Taking the Show on the Road! | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

On the Road Again…

On the Road Again | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

This weekend I’m packing up the van to head north but this time I’m bringing art, lots and lots of art instead of our usual camping gear. I’ll be headed up to Grants Pass to start the install week of my solo show ‘Where Art & Nature Meet’ at the Grants Pass Museum of Art! I’ll be posting photos and videos of the installation as it happens next week, so stayed tuned!

And keep your fingers crossed that all the art makes it there safely!

Exciting News!

While it’s still a few months off, I’m excited to announce that I’ll be attending two residencies at the beginning and end of this summer!

I was invited to attend Buffalo Creek Art Center in Gardnerville, Nevada for the month of June and in September I will be off to a month long residency at the Fish Factory in Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland (also, I need to learn how to pronounce where I’m going!). I am so thrilled for both of these opportunities to meet and work alongside other artists, explore the natural beauty of both of these amazing places and most importantly, to make art- completely uninterrupted from daily life. It’s a pretty glorious opportunity! 

Exciting News! | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

I’m really hoping to use these two months to experiment with materials I haven’t worked with in a long time (porcelain has been lingering in my mind for awhile now!), to focus on the process of making my forms and to build relationships with other artists I meet. I hope that the combination of these elements will also result in new work, a wider network of artists and supporters as well as a general boost to my art career.

I am so lucky that the residency at Buffalo Creek is partially funded, which means that they cover my housing & studio time while I’m there but I’m responsible for my materials, food & travel all of which I can cover from my current savings. My residency in Iceland however is a ‘pay-to-play’ opportunity so in a few months, I’ll be setting up a donation account and ask for some help making this opportunity happen. More to come on how you can help me boost my art career soon but in the meantime – I’m just thrilled!

photo credit: Crystal Birns

when old ideas become new ideas

Circa 2012, I had an idea to create a curved circular structure that would be covered with ceramic cone shaped pieces. I was calling this piece the Lens Series because it had the shape of a parabolic lens and my intention was to set it up in a variety of scenes; in snow, in a river, a forest, the beach etc… and conceptually the Lens would give you a new way of seeing each of those environments. So I went ahead and starting making the cone shaped pieces and they piled up on my shelves by the hundreds. But my problem was engineering the structure that would hold all the ceramic pieces at just the right angle and just the right curve and make it mobile and easy to set up/take down and basically the math just became overwhelming and so the project sat on the shelves and collected dust until last year…

The pieces were first unboxed for their exhibition debut at the UCSC Arboretum for the Environmental Installations exhibit. They were placed in a small grove where they encircled the tree trunks and were renamed the Tree Pools. I loved the contrast of the bright blues and purples in the middle of the garden, it gave this installation a really quiet and contemplative spot. But despite a lot of interest in visitors purchasing these for their own trees, I resisted the urge to sell them because I still thought that someday in the future my Lens Series would actually happen.

when old ideas become new ideas | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

In addition to the Tree Pools installation at the Arboretum, I also made a large scale installation of Umbel flowers for the same exhibit, umbels are a flower structure that that blossoms into an umbrella shape and this was a structure that I’d really fallen in love with. I had done quite a bit of research on the structures of umbels and thought it would be interesting to try to go larger with the shape. And so with my husband Nate off work for two days due to rain, we designed and he welded together some starburst shaped umbel structures for me that are about 2.5′ in diameter and we will install them on 12′ tall steel pipe for the stems. I plan to attach the cone shaped pieces that were originally intended for the Lens Series as the flower buds for these new Umbels. The idea is that you will be able to walk under them as they will blow and move in the wind like crazy sputnik style dandelions, I think they’ll be pretty fun to make and engage with in the garden.

when old ideas become new ideas | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

So sometimes, it’s a good idea to let go of an okay idea. I admit now that the Lens Series may never happen, but I’m glad that I invested in an idea that led me down a long path to create these new pieces. Also really glad to have a talented husband to weld for me!