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“Mother, Daughter, Artist, Wife: Self-Portrait,”
19 in. (48 cm) in height, slab-built stoneware, with underglazes and underglaze
pencil, fired to Cone 4.
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November 26, 2007
Creating Relationships, Story-Telling Sculptures
by Sandra Luehrsen | Read Comments (0)
Most of Jane Kelsey-Mapel’s work involves the
warm and important relationships in her life. Family, friends, animals and
familiar objects become the subjects of her work. Her sculptures tell stories
that are particular to her life in the details, but universal in theme. Her
characters are almost always shown in relation to another living being. These
relationships might be between two people; between human and animal; or between
the physical and spiritual. Even the physical manifestation of the work itself
involves relationships between realistic and abstracted forms and color.INSPIRATIONKelsey-Mapel creates sculptural portraits with
an empathy and love for her subjects. Sometimes, she emphasizes certain
physical features by making them more detailed and realistic than the rest of
the sculpture. In a self-portrait called “Mother, Daughter, Artist, Wife:
Self-Portrait,” Kelsey-Mapel skillfully creates a likeness of her own face. The
artist has a human torso, right arm and right leg. Her left side transitions
into a comforting rocking chair. A roof and chimney sit on her head suggesting
the warmth and stability of a home. An open window looks into her heart. Her
grinning face, her hand and foot, and a gold lustered tea service (a childhood
treasure full of memories) are executed with realistic detail and color.PROCESSESKelsey-Mapel uses mainly soft slabs of Cone 5
porcelain or white stoneware to create her sculptures. She works the
overlapping slabs together from the inside to make the walls an even thickness,
which is particularly important with porcelain. Kelsey-Mapel selectively blends
exterior seams just as one would construct a line drawing, erasing some lines
while emphasizing others.  Kelsey-Mapel applies layers of translucent
underglaze washes to bisque-fired sculptures to suggest the subtle transitional
colors of nature. The translucent washes make the almost dry surface lively and
interesting. She begins by underpainting and staining with the darkest shade of
a hue. Then she loosely brushes on successively lighter shades giving the
underglazes visual depth. Sometimes she also layers slightly warmer and cooler
versions of the color.
ARTISTIC VISION“When Life Gives You Lemons . . . Portrait of
Megan,” a recognizable yet partially abstracted portrait, expresses
Kelsey-Mapel’s unique vision. Megan’s bright yellow lemons, a metaphor for
life’s challenges, stand out against her vibrant blue textured sweater. Her
simplified torso and arms contrast with her naturalistically rendered face and
hands. Megan smiles while gently holding the sour fruit. She sees the world
with a hopeful outlook. Age, apparent in Megan’s weathered skin and gray hair,
gives her the wisdom to know that difficulties often yield blessings. This
portrait of her dear friend, even more than some others, visually and
conceptually tells the story of Kelsey-Mapel’s warm relationships with others
and to the world.For More InformationTo see more of Jane’s work, visit Victoria Boyce Galleries.
Read more about these related topics:
Glazing Techniques & Glaze Recipes Handbuilding Ceramic Sculpture Ceramic Artists
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