Art
#animals #ceramics #sculpture #surreal
Surrealist Sculptures by Ellen Jewett Effortlessly Combine Animals With Their Fantastical Surroundings
Ellen Jewett (previously) effortlessly blends animals with elements from their environments, creating ceramic pieces that often balance unexpected species together in a singular piece. Each work is highly detailed—flowers, leaves, and vines wrapping themselves around animals from coyotes to chameleons.
By focusing on negative spaces within the animals’ bodies, Jewett strips away the weight of her objects, a quality that is usually inextricably linked to the medium of sculpture. She constructs her ceramic pieces using an additive technique, beginning with the innermost parts of the sculptures and layering outward. As periphery components of the animals’ surroundings are added to the piece, a narrative begins to form. These additional pieces Jewett describes as being beautiful, grotesque, or fantastical and add to the object’s exploration of domestication, death, growth, visibility, and wildness.
Jewett’s materials are just as important as her process—only using clay, paints, finishes, and glazes that are free from toxic properties. In addition to being toxic free, she also attempts to source locally and naturally whenever possible. You can keep updated on the Canadian artist’s new work on her Facebook page, and several new pieces are currently available.
#animals #ceramics #sculpture #surreal
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