Jessica Gardner’s sculptural ceramics have evolved over the years to reflect her life experiences. Her current body of work, Tranquil Turmoil, utilizes multiples – small objects that when seen alone may seem insignificant, but when combined create a narrative that speaks to time, accumulation, and the importance of intimate scale.
Workshop participants will engage in hands-on handbuilding exercises, including experiments with multiples, an introduction to bisque sprig molds, and brainstorming about how this way of working could inform students’ own studio practice. Gardner will bring some of her own tools for students to work with. All materials are provided.
Gardner’s current work includes handbuilt and bisque-molded multiples and her compositions explore motherhood in the modern era. They have been included in publications such as 500 Teapots Volume 2 by Lark Books, Ceramics: Art and Perception, and the Both Artist and Mother blog.
Gardner’s work can be seen in the permanent collections of the Canton Museum of Art, Canton, OH; Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute Collection, Jingdezhen, China; the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR; and the Porter Price Collection, Columbia, SC.
Image: Jessica Gardner, Imbalanced Steadiness (Photo by Gregory Staley)