Clay Sculpture - My First Love

A couple of people have recently asked to see some of my artwork. So, I thought I'd write a blog about each of the different mediums I have enjoyed. Of all the artistic mediums, clay was my first love and the medium I will probably always love best. In what seems like a lifetime ago, I made a series of large scale (about 27" by 18") raku and primitive-fired clay shellflower forms which I sold from a few galleries in Pennsylvania and Arizona. I saw these forms as expressions of the divine and sensual feminine, influenced by Anne Morrow Lindbergh's book Gifts from the Sea and by Georgia O'Keefe.  When I began working at Intel, I pretty much had no time for art other than photography, so I kind of quit making these forms. I thought when I retired, I would return to clay work, but I haven't been able to make that happen in my current environment. All of these forms were started on a potter's wheel and finished with coil construction. Many have been sold or gifted to friends, but I still have some of my favorites. 

In addition to the shellflower forms, I also made a number of fairly large clay sculptures of bird forms, after reading that in some indigenous cultures, birds symbolize the female spirit. Each of those bird forms represents a feminine entity with a different attitude - all have pregnant bellies, with wings that symbolize breast forms. These were also begun on a potter's wheel and completed using coil construction. 

This grouping shows both bird forms and shellflower forms on display stands.