Photo shoot day

I got the opportunity to revisit one of my favorite homes in Santa Cruz in order to shoot some work that has lived there for quite a few years now. Its modern, earthy, cozy, minimalist and filled with art… I could move in tomorrow!  Enjoy some pics from the photo shoot in my Residential Installations portfolio…

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | photo shoot day

Mulberry Gallery

Mulberry Gallery in the heart of Aptos Village is an art frame company and gallery dedicated to the inspiration of art lovers, collectors and home owners. Run by husband and wife team Del & Barbara Crawford, the pair has provided clients from all over the bay area family portraits, framing services and art work while also supporting the arts in Aptos. In November of 2014 the gallery hosted the Aptos Artwalk, which was the first of many future events intended to bond Aptos Village in its love of food, art, wine and culture. I’m so excited to announce that they have chosen to host my work in their gallery space. Please take the time to cross the parking lot when you’re getting your Starbucks or waiting for a table at Cafe Sparrow and drop into the gallery. Del & Barbara will be happy to welcome you into their space and help you find the perfect piece for your collection.

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | Mulberry Gallery

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | Mulberry Gallery

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt | Mulberry Gallery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Studio Sale 2015

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | events | spring studio sale 2015

 

 

Every year Jenni Ward and Earth Art Studio host a Spring Studio Sale the weekend before Mother’s Day. It’s a great opportunity to visit the studio, meet the artists, tour the sculpture garden, sign up for summer classes and of course BUY ART! New work by owner & artist Jenni Ward will be shown as well as student work will be for sale. Yummy snacks, drinks and raffles for a chance to win art will be waiting for you!

Join Us
May 2nd 2015, 11 – 4
767 Cathedral Dr | one mile from the Aptos PO
Looking forward to seeing you there!

 

 

Residential Installations

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | installations | residential

 

I’ve just added a new page to my website to document some of the residential installations that I’ve done. Click the link to check out the work: Residential Installations, and more will be added soon, so check back often!

If you have my work in your home that you would like to share, please email me photos.

 

 

 

 

Series Showcase: Specimen Series

The specimen series is a line of work that focuses on arrangements of organic shapes. The small wall mounted ceramic boxes create frames which both restrict and enhance the pieces that they contain. The forms contained inside the boxes are abstracted version of seeds, fungi, shells and bones but made entirely of clay and arranged in an intriguing composition. The forms in each clay box have been fused into place through the kiln firing process. I wanted these sculptures to have the feel of biological specimen collections often seen in museums, each cataloged and preserved. In my own life, I like to organize and box things up, it makes me feel in control of the things I own and this series translates that same idea of organization and categorization.

Each piece is uniquely hand-built and there are a limited number of pieces left in this series. All available works are in the SHOP.

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | specimen series | the dirt

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | specimen series | the dirt Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | specimen series | the dirt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Art in a Box Subscription

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | Art In a BoxHow about a unique piece of art landing in your mailbox every month? Ever join a wine of the month club? This is sort of the same thing, except that you get a piece of amazing art from a California artist every month and I’m one of the artists you can get art from!

Operating on the model of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or wine subscription service, Art in a Box offers amazing original works of art instead of vegetables or wine. The ART IN A BOX subscription service runs out of The Compound Gallery in Oakland CA , you can click the link for details and how to sign up. Lena & Matt Reynoso are the husband and wife team behind this endeavor and all of the amazing projects they have going on at the gallery. If you’re a Bay Area local, be sure to check them out for art openings and events- they will not disappoint! They pride themselves on their excellent reputation, attentive customer service, and high quality of collectible artwork by cutting edge artists. I’m so proud to be included in this group of artists!

ART IS GOOD FOR YOU!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

studio visits

Yesterday, all of the art was pulled from the shelves and given a bath to get the dust and spider webs off of them. All the shelves were wiped down and everything was put back again in a new eye pleasing arrangement. Why go through all this work when the art is not up for an exhibition? Because I’m hoping that you’ll stop by the studio for a visit and I want everything to look good when you come by! Artists spend a lot of time alone in their studios working away and most will welcome a studio visit and a chance to talk about what they are doing one-on-one with you. There’s no reason to wait for an art show to contact an artist about their work. So, feel free to drop me an email and arrange a time to come by… looking forward to seeing you at the studio!
Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | the dirt

Series Showcase: Nest Series

I started the Nest Series around 2010 and only recently stopped making pieces from this series. They began as a technical challenge to cleanly trap one form inside of another and also to pay attention to the inside of the vessel. Traditionally the inside of clay forms are hidden from sight, in these pieces I love being able to see through the work, it creates a visual lightness in a medium that is physically heavy. In the course of making this series, I experimented with every type of hole, shape and possibility I could think of to find what was the most successful way of conceptually expressing the balance between protecting and trapping. Each nest has an item that is exposed to the viewer through its outer shell but also shielded by its webbing. In some, the inner items are attempting to escape but are then left vulnerable to the elements, I think that this is a human condition we all feel at one point or another. If you’d like even more info about this series, you can watch a video where I talk about the process of building and the conceptual aspects of trapping forms.

These pieces are hand-built, hand-carved and created with a process that fuses the inner pieces to the outer. They are made from high fired stoneware and each piece is original and unique. You can purchase pieces from the nest series in the SHOP while they last.

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | nest series

Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | nest series Jenni Ward ceramic sculpture | nest series

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Series Showcase: Lichen

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.

jenni ward ceramic sculpture | lichen seriesjenni ward ceramic sculpture | lichen series jenni ward ceramic sculpture | lichen series

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.