Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

inspiration in exploration

March 4, 2015 May 11, 2015

I am very lucky to live in a place as beautiful as Santa Cruz County, every corner is filled with natural inspiration for artists. I try to take advantage of that everyday, typically in the form of a dog walk. My furry companion Indigo and I hit the beach, the creek, the woods- pretty much everyday we’re outside exploring somewhere, finding interesting things to inspire. Today I found a collection of bones that had washed up in a tangle of kelp from sea birds and seals. The forms are beautiful and sculptural. I brought a few back to the studio and took a look at them next to the work I’ve been making for my bone series. The image on the far right is my work in clay, the image next to it is a bird bone, the similarities are striking. This time spent exploring the natural world is so integral to my work, I love that my art takes me out of the studio as much as nature brings me back in and creates a working balance for me.

Land of Fire and Water

March 4, 2015 May 11, 2015

This January I was so lucky to sneak in a quick trip to the Big Island and visit my sweetest friend Susun Gallery who runs Artschool on the Beach in Kona. (If you’re going on vacation there, look her up. She’ll teach you how to take a bit of your vacation home in a painting you made!)

I brought a few small sculptures with me and with cameras in hand we adventured off to the north coast near the town of Hawi and hiked down the cliffs to a beautiful black sand beach covered in lava rock. We played with rocks and sticks, challenged the waves timing and strength and acted like artists- oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over the beauty of it all. I didn’t know what to expect, but the beautiful contrast of my bright red glaze against the satiny black sand was a perfect match. I’d love to go back and do a larger installation with more pieces, but that will have to wait for another day. You can check out some images of the spark sculptures in the land of fire & water here…

March Studio News!

March 2, 2015 May 11, 2015

Here’s the monthly wrap up of everything going on at the studio…

March Studio News!

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Everybody’s Ocean: Wave II

February 27, 2015 February 4, 2021

Celebrate the opening of Wave II of Everybody’s Ocean in the Solari Gallery at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. Opening reception of Wave II: Free First Friday, March 6th 5-9 PM. Click here for more information. Words of thanks by curator Justin Hoover at 7:30. Everybody’s Ocean is a massive crowd-sourced exhibition featuring artwork about the ocean. An installation from my Bone Series has been a part of this exhibition as one of the “anchored” pieces of the show and this has been an incredible exhibit to be a part of. Come see for yourself!

The ocean represents anything from womb to tomb. We personify it as a wrathful god, a seductive spirit, or an indomitable force. The four oceans of the world cover 71% of the Earth’s surface and link us to primordial pasts. The ocean is a living, shared space and one of the greatest unexplored mysteries of the world. Everybody interprets the ocean in different ways.

Series Showcase: Lichen

February 25, 2015 February 4, 2021

In the spirit of revisiting older but still very relevant work, I’d like to take the time to showcase some of my series, this time the lichen series. Sometimes work comes and goes in the studio so quickly you don’t have much time to live with it, but these pieces have graced the shelves of the studio for a while and I’ve gotten to spend time thinking about them and why I’ve made them.

Secretly, I’m kind of happy that this piece hasn’t sold yet, I really love this guy and hope it goes to a good home someday! Its up on my studio wall, so I get to check it out all day while I’m working. It was kind of a spontaneous build, so the longer I live with it, the more I get to think about why I made it.

While I was working on it all of the parts were laying flat on the table and they had the appearance of slick whale bodies with crustaceans growing on their skin- it seemed very of the sea. But as soon as the pieces went on the wall the feel about them changed to growing plants or a forest of burnt trees that had died and new growth was taking over and hence how the lichen series was named. I also really love how activated all the spaces in-between each piece is. This series is a study in the balance of duality, the pieces play with ideas of death and regrowth, the power of negative space and the contrast of black and white. Each lichen growth is fused in place by the glazing process in the kiln. These pieces are hand-built from high fired stoneware and each piece is original and unique.

If you’d like to add pieces from lichen series to your collection, click for more information.

Have art, will travel

February 24, 2015 May 11, 2015

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | in the field | rock candy series I recently took a camping/adventure road trip to the desert with my husband and whenever possible I always add a selection of my sculptures to the packing list. This time I brought a box of about 50 pieces from my brand new rock candy series. These pieces are designed to be wall mounted (and maybe will be one day!) but I had a suspicion that I could hide the plain backsides of them when I arranged them in the field. The rock formations I found had large cracks and layers to them formed from ancient magma and I thought they were the perfect place to put these little colorful gems. Check out more picture here…

Have you collected art from me?

February 23, 2015 March 2, 2021

When you come to the studio to buy art or order art online at the shop, I pack it up and happily send it on its way to you but rarely do I get to see where my art ends up and lives out the rest of its life. Will you show me? Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | have you collected art from me?

If you’ve collected my art, this is a call for you to send me photos of where you’ve put my art in your home or garden space. I would love to share your photos here on a future blog post. I’m hoping to inspire others to see how art can enhance their space and make everything just feel good. I know that we don’t need art in the same way that we need food and clothing but I really believe that we need art to help us feel connected to others and the world at large. My home isn’t filled with stuff (I’m a minimalist at heart!) but it does have its fair share of art and those pieces are thoughtfully collected and some of the most important things that I own. Surrounding myself with art instead of stuff, means that everything has a story, a place or a person attached to it and I love that. I hope that my work gives you the same feeling and becomes a connected part of your home and life. I’m looking forward to seeing our photos of my work in their new homes!

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | have you collected art from me?

My share: This is my dining room table/multi-purpose space/occasional office, I keep a rotating selection of found objects and artwork here all the time. The figurative sculpture is from my Haitian artist friend Racine Polycarpe, the print from my sister-in-law Kristen O’Neill, the fish painting I just picked up from my friend Susun Gallery in Hawaii, a ceramic bowl from a village in Mexico, a copper stamp for batik wax printing that I found at the flea market, a stick with amazing textures my husband found in the Mojave Desert, a glass doorknob from the house I grew up in, a bowl of corks from every celebration, a small Nest from my own work and some seashells and rocks from my local explorations sitting on a stone plate. This is what I surround myself with, this is what inspires me. What about you?

A few photo specs:
Take a minute to look at your lighting and shadows and try to capture your shot at the best timing for lighting. Move extraneous stuff (water bottle, tv remote etc…) out of the shot. I will resize and edit the photos for you, so just send me what you’ve got and also let me know if its ok to use your name along with your photos in my future posts and any other info you want to share about the pieces you’ve collected. Please email your photos to jw@jenniward.com

Spring Clay Class for Kids

February 19, 2015 May 11, 2015

This spring I will be offering a 5 week Create With Clay workshop for kids ages 6 and up at earth art studio. We will create functional and sculptural pieces, experiment with building techniques and have fun being cr8iv! Beginners and studio alumni are all welcome. This class leads up to our annual Spring Studio Sale where students will have the opportunity to sell or just show their work off to friends and family. Click the link for more info and to sign up now.
Space is limited and this class will fill fast!

* if this workshop coincides with your spring break and you will miss a class, you will have the opportunity to make-up the class!

Series Showcase: Seed Pods

February 18, 2015 May 11, 2015

In the spirit of revisiting older but still very relevant work, I’d like to take the time to showcase some of my series. Sometimes work comes and goes in the studio so quickly you don’t have much time to live with it, but these pieces have graced the shelves of the studio for the better part of a year and I’ve gotten to spend time thinking about them and why I’ve made them.

This series, named the seed pod series is a study in form and texture. The interesting part is that this is the second seed pod series I’ve made. The first group was made in 2006 and resemble their follow-up series but the older pieces focus more on the outside of the form while the newer ones focus more on the inner workings of a seed. I am inspired by the forms of seed pods that I find while exploring the forest near my home studio. I love the way a seed will sprout roots and shoots; each part fragile and vulnerable but fiercely determined. I tried to explore this action in an abstract way and make them seem to be hatching an unidentified new life form. The surface of these pieces has been decorated using a wax resist process which enhances the depth of texture. I also like to play with the contrast of glossy and matte glazes on the surface of the clay as well as neutral tones next to flashy turquoises and lime greens. Each spiny shoot is fused in place by the glazing process in the kiln. These pieces are hand-built from high fired stoneware and each piece is original and unique.

If you’d like to add pieces from seed pod series to your collection, many are available in the shop.