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Umbel Update!

The NCECA conference is just around the corner in late March, but work for our concurrent exhibition ‘This is the Anthropocene’ is due at the gallery in just a few weeks and I think I’m actually going to be ready in time!

I abandoned my original plan of having three varying sized pieces and instead went with one very large and two smaller pieces. It’s so hard to tell scale in photos but this fennel inspired umbel is five and a half feet across and while it looks light and delicate, it actually weighs a ton (not literally!) It is ~almost~ finished, but there’s some touch up epoxying, sanding and touch up painting still to do. I’m really pleased with the way this one turned out. There are also two more smaller fennel flowerheads on their way across the finish line for this exhibit too. I’ve decided that the installation of all three flowers will be displayed on the floor of the gallery nestled into a puddle of black sand. I think the sand will highlight the bright yellow flower tips and make them glow even more than they already do. Looking forward to seeing this entire exhibit come to life, it’s been a long time in the making!

This is the Anthropocene.

Harris Center for the Arts – Bank of America Gallery | Folsom Lake College

February 11–March 27 | Reception: March 17 6:30-8:30

10 College Parkway Folsom, CA
harriscenter.net/visit/bank-of-america-gallery

wearable sculptures

Sculptor Jamie Abbott and I have collaborated again to create a new series of wearable sculptures. They will be available at Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery for their annual exhibit, Take Aways – Art to Go!

January 19 – March 6, 2022

37 Sudden St., Watsonville, CA 95076 | Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Sunday 11am-4pm | 831.722.3062 | pvarts.org

MASKS REQUIRED

winter has arrived

My installation Lichen Series | Spore Pattens was installed back in August and I loved how the white glaze looked contrasted against the lush green backdrop of the forest in summer. But, one of the things I was looking forward to the most was seeing my installation evolve through the seasons. Winter has officially arrived at the Price Sculpture Forest and I love this photo I just received from the owner Scott Price of the seasons first snowfall on my work. It’s so amazing to see how the snow highlights the forms and adds texture to the surface. Can’t wait to see what spring brings!

wip: umbel series

I’ve been working away in my freezing cold studio building large scale Umbel pieces that are bases on fennel flower structures and I’ve started to make some progress. These pieces will be exhibiting at the Harris Center for the Arts Gallery during the NCECA (National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts) conference early next year. My plan is to have three of these in varying sizes installed and I’m about halfway through the second one. If you came by the studio during Open Studios this year, you saw the first finished piece (pictured below).

The second one is larger, five feet across and I’ve been playing with modifying the glazes on this one too. So my days are filled with cutting hundreds of feet of kanthal wire into bits and making -literally- a thousand tiny flower heads that will be placed into each of the larger flowerhead forms. I’m also testing glazes and building the flower body forms which are thrown on the wheel and then trimmed to create a rounded top to the form. In addition, my husband has been welding up the steel structure that all of these parts will get attached to. His math skills have been put to the test getting all the curves and spacing balanced but I think he’s doing an amazing job!

Book Bundles Are Here!

Book Bundle | Shop | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

On Sale Through The End Of The Year!

All three of my art books in one package! Printed versions of ‘a relationship with earth’, ‘where art & nature meet’ and my latest book ‘inspiration through exploration’ are all included in this book bundle.  Each softcover book is 8″x 8″, with full color photos from cover to cover, chronicling my work from 2009 – 2021.

All 3 Books for $60 (reg $70) ORDER HERE

New prints are up in the shop!

In the Field Photo: Relic Series | shop | Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture

Just in time for the holidays!

A small selection of prints from the In the Field ephemeral installations are available for sale. These are printed on aluminum and have a floating metal mount on the back for a clean and modern display. Perfect for the art + nature lover on your list! SHOP HERE

inspired by baja

It was so wonderful to return to my happy place in the desert, work with creative and talented people while also getting some time to just watch the sun move across the sky. In these few weeks, my quartz rock collection grew, I saw more sunsets than I missed, and I watched the whales start to arrive at their southern destination. There is something about the quiet determination to thrive in the desert, that definitely inspires.

My weekend workshop at Barro Sur was a fantastic event, the participants were eager to learn new ways of working with clay and to be inspired by the flora and fauna of the region. Students came from all over to participate in this class. We spent two days building, let the work dry on a very slow bisque firing and then had a glazing opportunity in the days that followed. The results were beautiful and I hope that it inspired everyone to reconnect with the nature that surrounds them. On a personal level, it was great to meet and connect with new members of this small town’s community.

I hope to return again in a few months and get another dose of inspiration, in the meantime I’ll have to hang onto those sunsets in my mind.

gracias!

Huge thank you to everyone who contributed to creating two scholarships for local students to attend my workshop at Barro Sur in Todos Santos, Baja Sur last week. We had a great time and the class created some amazing projects that were all inspired by the textures of nature. Steve Jacobi, owner of Barro Sur selected Nikoll Suset Vogas & Maythe Curiel as the recipients of the scholarships, both were thrilled to be able to participate in the workshop and were so fun to spend the weekend with. Nikoll has an agricultural engineering background with an interest in the environment and sustainable farming. Maythe is an industrial design student at UABN Mexicali and has been exploring the design of dinnerware, leaning towards a career in ceramics. Thank you for making this opportunity possible for them! 

The Jet Set visits the Price Sculpture Forest

The Jet Set, a nationally syndicated cable tv travel show, visited the Price Sculpture Forest for Season 6, Episode 19 featuring Whidbey & Camano Islands, Washington. Starting at about 12:30 minutes in, you can catch some great shots of my installation Lichen Series: Spore Patterns along with many of the other site specific sculptures in the park.

The Jet Set offers viewers a weekly dose of travel news, lifestyle trends, inspiration, interesting and informative guests and destination features shot on-location.

The show is hosted by former flight attendant and television travel expert Bobby Laurie along with health and wellness expert and Mom, Nikki Noya.

The Jet Set en Español is written by and videos hosted by world traveler, photographer, and travel writer Juan Albarran.

The program airs in all 210 US TV markets including The US Virgin Islands and Guam, across Canada and in 11 Caribbean nations.