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South County Artists for Open Studios

I keep asking you all to come to MY studio for Open Studios this year, but while you’re out there, here are a few of my favorite clay and sculpture artists in the South County area to check out too! See you this weekend!

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | South County Artists for Open Studios

Adon Valenziano Artist #162 Mixed Media Sculptures and Mobiles

Wendy Ballen Artist #203 Wire Sculpture

Liz Crain Artist #207 Handbuilt Ceramic Vessels

Elaine Pinkernell Artist #287 Textured Ceramic Slab Work

Karen Hansen Artist #292 Handbuilt Ceramic Sculpture

So get your guide, make your plan, hit the studios and BUY ART this weekend!

Need more info: www.artscouncilsc.org

Getting Ready for Open Studios 2015

This week is crazy busy at the studio while I get everything ready for Open Studios 2015, but I wanted to share a few teaser shots of what’s going on in the studio. Can’t wait to see y’all this weekend, here are the details:
Sat & Sun 11 – 5 | 767 Cathedral Dr Aptos | Artist #254

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | getting ready for Open Studios 2015 Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | getting ready for Open Studios 2015 Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | getting ready for Open Studios 2015

Studio Gifts

My favorite thing about reopening the studio is reconnecting with my students and the creative people in my life. This week I was welcomed back with two perfect gifts. The first is half of walnut shell which reminded the giver of my work. I love that my work makes others connect with nature in a way they might not of otherwise. The other is my new  ‘I’d rather be sculpting’ bumper sticker which goes perfectly with my ‘buy art’ sticker! Love these new additions to my collections…do my people know me or what?

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | studio gifts Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | studio gifts

ArtPrize 2015 Opens!

Weighing the Landscape | September 9 – October 11, 2015 | (106) Gallery | Grand Rapids MI
ArtPrize is a “radically open competition” held in Grand Rapids, Michigan for two and a half weeks each fall. This year the Calvin College (106) Gallery presents, “WEIGHING THE LANDSCAPE.” Drawing on the environment for both thematic and formal inspiration, these twelve ArtPrize artists explore and measure connections within the landscape. Whether it is the relationship between strength and fragility, sustainability and wastefulness, light and dark, or growth and decay, each artist addresses the topic in unique ways. As a result, this measuring of opposites brings questions to mind. How does one find beauty in deterioration, see order within chaos, address stewardship amongst change, or understand rigidity within an organic space? These and other questions are at the root of the artistic process and invite the viewer to weigh the landscape in this exhibition. If you are in the Grand Rapids area, visit the gallery at: (106) Gallery and Studio, 106 South Division Ave. Grand Rapids, MI 49503 and register to vote for your favorite piece!

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | ArtPrize 2015 Opens

The artists are: Valerie Allen, Al Denyer, Kate Gesel, Yasmin Khalaf, Karen Lemmert & David Naill of MANIFOLD Design, Jeannette MacDougall, Armin Mersmann, Zach Mory, Kimberly Roush, Sam Soet, Jo-Ann Van Reeuwyk, and Jenni Ward

Making Tools

Even with all of the gadgets, gizmos and tools you just have to have out there sometimes, you can’t find just what you need and you have to make your own. I’ve seen artists use everything from pool noodles to pipes as they support their work in the wet building stages, but my work needed support in the kiln, which means I needed something that could survive the firing process.

I’ve been firing flanged pieces from my bone series with some good results but I often get a small crack line along the length of the pieces during the glaze firing process. I realized that some more support might be what’s needed to help them survive the firing process with a higher success rate. So I started building some angled clay shapes for the sculptures to rest on. But because the glaze can’t touch anything during the firing, I added short lengths of heavy gauge nichrome wire pins poking out of the clay everywhere. So the glazed piece rests on the pinpoints instead of on the clay support. The result looks like some crazy torture device but so far so good, my new tool appears to have worked its magic. Making the tools to make the art makes artists inventors as well as creators!
Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | making tools Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | making toolsJenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | making tools

Driftwood hunting

In search of some driftwood for an upcoming art installation, I spent the morning driving up the coast on Highway 1 to a remote area where I thought I might discover some good finds. Typically the driftwood piles up on our local beaches in winter storms but with the two year drought in full effect, winter storms have been non existent and driftwood has been sparse. As normal as its become for me to see the amazing vistas the coast road has to offer, I’m still in awe of being steps away from a major road and just 30 miles from large cities and yet in the middle of summer, there is no one on this stretch of beach. Spending a quiet morning with my dog meandering along, searching for whatever gifts the sea has washed up is a good way to start the day. If you have never driven the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), you need to add this to your bucket list. I’ve lived here over 15 years and it never gets old, the wild open spaces of California enamor me again and again.

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | driftwood huntingJenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | driftwood hunting Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | driftwood hunting

Fingers Crossed

Off it goes! 200 pieces that make up my Hive Series installation are on the road destined for Artprize 2015. The piece will be showcased at the Calvin College (106) Gallery in downtown Grand Rapids Michigan. Fingers crossed that everything arrives safely AND that it finds a happy home in Michigan, so I don’t have to ship it back!

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | fingers crossedJenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | fingers crossed Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | fingers crossed

Flashback Art Attack: newish stuff

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | flashback art attack: newish stuff
As my 3 weeks on the east coast visiting friends and family wind down to the final hours, here are just a few more images of art from my parents house, minus the stuff I’m just too embarrassed to claim I made and they won’t get rid of. Sometimes its good to see a retrospective of how your art has evolved over time and where influences have been injected into your work and sometimes, not so much. The top image is a silhouette of small pieces from my Sprout Series, I love the way these pieces look against the sky. Below are pieces from my more recent Nest Series and Linked Series, both focus on the connections between organic shapes. Enjoy!
Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | flashback art attack: newish stuff Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | flashback art attack: newish stuff