Throwback Thursday…

Recently reorganizing files led me to going through some vintage works and also made me realize that I’ve been taking my art out into nature for nearly ten years now. A sense of place and belonging to that place has become so much a part of the work and my installations, that I don’t think about the work without thinking about these places, even through the connections are as ephemeral as a shadow.

In the beginning there were experiments, some that were more successful than others. Some work didn’t connect with the space as well as others, it took some paying attention to the spaces and the work that was naturally coming out of the studio to find those connections. To figure out which pieces were more terrestrial and which more aquatic, but it felt that somehow the circle was complete by placing these pieces back where their original inspiration began, like returning the clay to the earth.

When I’ve encountered other people during the placement of these pieces, they always assume that I found the work growing or washed up or reveled somehow and wonder what anomaly of nature they are – so I guess they do look like they belong there. Below are some early images from the start of this process. If you want to check out some more images and newer ‘in the field’ installations, click here. There will be more to come in the future, I don’t see me stopping this part of my creative process any time soon… enjoy.

Nest Series in the Stone Pools in Nisene Marks State Park Aptos California | 2013
Hive Series Manresa State Beach Watsonville California | 2013
Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | in the field | bone series
Bone Series Fragments | Purple Sand Beach Big Sur California | 2014

New project with Aerena Gallery

I’ve been quietly working away on these pieces in the studio over the past few months and just finished them up. I’m excited to announce that they have been placed with Aerena Galleries in Napa/Sonoma. It was a fun project to collaborate with them on, as they supplied the cloches and I designed the inner compositions with pieces from the Bone Series | Urchins and Medusas. They also have a bit of dried seaweed as part of the compositions, adding texture and color. I’m really pleased with the amount of movement and energy the pieces have despite their containment in the glass.

It will be interesting to see how they will display them in the gallery and even more interesting to see where these strange specimens end up!

Scenes from NCECA 2022, day three

Three days and viewing almost 40 exhibitions is definitely pushing my limits of creative absorption but I’m honestly so amazed by the diversity of ways that artists use this humble medium of clay. From hand-built functional ware to high tech 3D printing, artists are really doing just about anything and everything with it and it’s so, so impressive.

From Ground to Surface at Sacramento Fine Arts Center & Constructed Landscapes- Brick, Tile and Pillar at Blue Line Arts

I ended my conference with a first time visit to the Crocker Museum which hosted the NCECA Annual Exhibition Belonging, and enjoyed the permanent collection on display. Their collection was vast and displayed beautifully…I loved seeing their collection of Stephen deStabler works since I took a workshop with him the year that I moved to California, and their Japanese ceramics collection was stunning as well. I also included one image below of a Ruth Asawa crocheted copper piece which is technically not clay but I love her work so much, I had to include it as one of the highlights of this art adventure.

Beneath the Surface-Origin Stories at The MACC: , Belonging and Permanent Collection at the Crocker Art Museum & Body Image at E Street Gallery

And with way too much art swirling in my brain, that’s a wrap NCECA 2022…

So grateful for the opportunity to work with this dream team!
Marisa Sayago-Professor of Art at Folsom Lake College + Artists Shannon Sullivan, Jenni Ward, Cynthia Siegel, Susan Whitmore & Wesley Wright

scenes from NCECA 2022, day two

I spent half of today in the conference center watching a few lectures, the morning keynote speech and half the day walking around to exhibits that were close by downtown Sacramento. The keynote was a fascinating talk by Courtney M Leonard who discussed her relationship with her ancestral lands, the surrounding waters and how her ceramic works are responses to that relationship. I ended a very long day at our exhibit ‘This is the Anthropocene’ in Folsom with our artists reception. I really didn’t know if anyone was going to make it that far out of Sacramento to see our show, but we had a busy attendance all evening with lots of words of support and praise. Big thank yous to everyone who came out for our show!

‘Fertile Exchange’ at Delta Conveyance Design and Construction Authority
Legends and Legions: A survey show of California wood firing at Alpha Fired Arts
Seismic State: California Ceramics at Sparrow Gallery
This is the Anthropocene at The Harris Center for the Arts | Bank of America Gallery

Scenes from NCECA 2022, day one

I spent the majority of the first day of the NCECA conference driving around to different exhibitions all around the Sacramento area. Below are images of some of the work that caught my eye, some is student work, some friends and colleagues and some is work by those in the top of their field – all of it is so impressive and diverse. I’m hoping to get to a number of more shows before the conference is over but there are literally dozens of shows to chose from, in the meantime, enjoy some of this eye-candy, more to come!

Scenes from NCECA 2022 day one | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture
Kondos Gallery | Not so Guilty Pleasures & Cosumnes Rover College | Real ID
Scenes from NCECA 2022 day one | the dirt | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture
Robert Else Gallery California State University

NCECA is happening in Sacramento next week!

Excited to be attending this year’s NCECA conference in Sacramento. There’s a line up of great lectures, demos and of course ceramic exhibitions happening all over the area. I’m especially excited to attend the opening reception of the show I co-curated, This is the Anthropocene. My large scale Umbel flowers will be on display alongside the work of Cynthia Siegel, Shannon Sullivan, Susan Whitmore and Wesley Wright. Hope to see you at the reception!

Harris Center for the Arts – Bank of America Gallery | 10 College Parkway Folsom CA

February 11th – March 27th with a reception for the artists March 17th, 6:30 – 8:30

Supporting Ukrainian Potter Yuliya Makliuk

Looking for a way to help those in Ukraine directly? I was.

I then I realized that I follow a fellow ceramic artist on Instagram who is based in Kiev Ukraine. I literally watched their posts go from sustainable produced handmade pots to war posts overnight.

Studio potter Yuliya Makliuk is still in Kiev and has set up a number of ways that we can help support her and her community. One of the easiest is to buy a digital poster (like the one on the left here!) from her Etsy shop. She’s sending the money from these sales to local humanitarian organizations and the Ukrainian armed forces who are supporting those in the most dire situations.

To learn other ways to help: Here And Now Pottery

Closing Reception for Take Aways Art to Go!

Have you visited Pajaro Valley Gallery lately?

I did! It’s a beautiful show brimming with local talent and I picked up a new piece of art that will be a gift for a friend. There’s still time to see this show and pick up some art for your collection.

This annual invitational exhibit features seventy-three of the county’s most notable artists. As a fundraising event, these artists are presenting works that fit into many budgets.

Closing Reception & Raffle:
Sunday, March 6, 2–4

37 Sudden Street, Watsonville, CA
Gallery Hours: 11.00am – 4:00pm
Wednesday-Sunday

MASKS REQUIRED

www.pvarts.org

It’s Showtime!

For over a year, Cynthia Siegel and I have been planning this exhibition and we finally installed it last week. We are so proud to share with you This is the Anthropocene, an exhibition of five ceramic artists responding to the human impact on the planet. Artists Cynthia Siegel, Shannon Sullivan, Jenni Ward, Susan Whitman & Wesley Wright have some incredible works included in this show, please see it in person if you can and if not, we’ll be posting more images of the show over the following weeks.

February 11 – March 27, 2022
Reception for the artists:
March 17th 2022, 6:30-8:30pm

Harris Center for the Arts | Bank of America Gallery
Folsom Lake College, 10 College Parkway, Folsom CA

Gallery Hours: 12-4 Tuesday-Thursday