NJ STUDIO
Sculpture in clay has been Nancy's consuming passion for the past 20 years. Like many artists, she has worked in related fields to support her creative endeavors. She taught for 10 years at high schools in California, Massachusetts and Georgia after receiving her B.A. from Pasadena College in California. Later she demonstrated sculpture in the Tennessee school system.
In 1996, Nancy moved to a small farm in Tennessee with her husband, Russ (who is a woodcarver), along with her 2 horses. The horses' grace and power serve as continual inspiration for her work. As one can see from her claywork, she does not try to obtain an anatomically correct portrayal of a horse, but rather her goal is to capture the gesture, movement and fluid grace of the animal. Three different historical sculptural figures have influenced her work: Chinese tomb horses with their massive muscular qualities; stylized Etruscan images; highly decorated terra cotta horses from India.
Nancy's pieces are coil built, starting from the feet up. Coils are small rings of clay stacked on each other in order to keep the sculpture hollow. Asolid piece of clay can explode in the kiln when trapped air bubbles expand from the heat. When she gets up to the body, the legs have stiffened up enough to support the upper parts of the sculpture. Most pieces are raku fired that impart unique colors to each piece due to the random nature of this firing process. Other methods of firing include saggar firing where a container of material is added to the kiln that gives off a vapor that colors the piece. No matter what technique Nancy uses to fire her pieces, she always has an overwhelming sense of anticipation of what will grow out of the next lump of clay.
In 1996, Nancy moved to a small farm in Tennessee with her husband, Russ (who is a woodcarver), along with her 2 horses. The horses' grace and power serve as continual inspiration for her work. As one can see from her claywork, she does not try to obtain an anatomically correct portrayal of a horse, but rather her goal is to capture the gesture, movement and fluid grace of the animal. Three different historical sculptural figures have influenced her work: Chinese tomb horses with their massive muscular qualities; stylized Etruscan images; highly decorated terra cotta horses from India.
Nancy's pieces are coil built, starting from the feet up. Coils are small rings of clay stacked on each other in order to keep the sculpture hollow. Asolid piece of clay can explode in the kiln when trapped air bubbles expand from the heat. When she gets up to the body, the legs have stiffened up enough to support the upper parts of the sculpture. Most pieces are raku fired that impart unique colors to each piece due to the random nature of this firing process. Other methods of firing include saggar firing where a container of material is added to the kiln that gives off a vapor that colors the piece. No matter what technique Nancy uses to fire her pieces, she always has an overwhelming sense of anticipation of what will grow out of the next lump of clay.
