Jen Selwyn Pottery: Feeling like a "Real" Artist

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Feeling like a "Real" Artist

Although I have been selling my work for about 6 years it wasn't until I started at Gallery Q did I feel like a real artist. And now recently I am really feeling it loud and proud. For a long time I have been some ones daughter, sister, wife or mother, now I am finally making a name for myself. That hit me one day when I was working at the gallery and someone recognized my name. I said " Oh, you must know my husband" she said " No, I know your work." How cool is that!

Tuesday I got an e-mail from a lady in Marshfield. She had received a piece of my work for Mother's Day. She was interested in buying a piece for a friend as a Thank You gift. She met me yesterday and bought 3 pieces! Then e-mailed Thanking ME! saying that I am now her gift source. What a compliment!

Now this isn't the exact piece she bought, this one is going in Erin Prais- Hintz show in August as one of her inspiration pieces, but similar. Working in series has been a big thing for me, it has really helped in a lot of ways. 1. People can recognize my work more. 2. I can make more pieces, they may not be exact, but similar. 3. People can build collections. And it keeps me more focused.

I now have 3 series. Butterflies & Dragonflies, Leaves and Spirals. Each of which have sub-series. I will share more about these all later.

2 comments:

TesoriTrovatiJune 18, 2010 at 6:07 PM
Hooray for starting a blog, Jen! I am so excited for you. And as for being a 'real' artist...you are! And I feel the same way as you. Perhaps I have finally arrived at the precipice of my dreams.
If you ever want to talk 'blog' let me know. I have a lot of resources that can help make it what you want it to be.

Thanks for the shout out about my show!

Enjoy the day!
Erin
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ValaryJuly 9, 2010 at 12:28 PM
This comes from your friend who is as low on the techno pole as you can get. Your blog is great and its so good to see you throwing yourself into this! I'm so proud of you and a little jealous. Keep up the good work because it is really good, girl.
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About My Work

My love for all things messy started when I was young but has carried into my adult life for sure. I remember as a kid making mud pies and trying to sell them. Now I am using clay to create beautiful pieces and selling them. This time people are buying them. Although my first encounter with pottery was in college where I majored in Art Education. I really got into pottery about 9 years ago in Cincinnati at a place called

“Annie’s Mud Pie Shop” .... something about the name I guess.

I am most known for three series I have been working on for the last few years. My speckled turquoise pieces draw the eye of many art lovers. The color and mat texture of the glaze stands out in the sea of earth-tone work at many craft shows. My spiral series came about when I was experimenting with multiple layers of glazes and underglazes. The combination created a unique look that is ancient and modern at the same time. This glazing technique often requires hours of work, but the final product is such a delight I can’t stop making them. My leaf series is inspired by the Green Circle Trail in Stevens Point and my love of Fall. I use both throwing hand-building techniques to create the bowls, platters and baking dishes and use real leaves I collected with my children, to create texture and design elements. The glazing technique is what makes the leaves stand out on these pieces. I use the layering technique I discovered in my spiral work to add texture and depth to the leaves. I balance the strong colors of the leaves with a translucent gloss green to make the leaves pop. As a split to this series I have also added leaves to some of my turquoise pieces. The contrast if color is outstanding! This discovery came about when my cat stepped on the edge of a bowl and to salvage it, I simply added a leaf, the final product was such a delight I decided to make several more. And they were a hit!

When there are no more leaves to use, butterflies adorn my work. Much like the leaves the butterflies adorn the edge of bowls, platters and baking dishes. No, I do not use real butterflies! I do use images of real butterflies and I try to keep the decoration as accurate as possible. The butterflies are even more delicate than the leaves and have been a learning process for me. As a split from this series I have been using embossing and stamp techniques to create some original baking and serving dishes. They are still every bit as beautiful, just a little more user friendly.

I prefer to work in stoneware clay which makes my work durable, as well as oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. Glazes that are food safe and beautiful are what make my pottery great sitting on a coffee table or the kitchen table. What I enjoy most about working in clay, and with the leaves, is no two pieces are ever exactly the same. Most of my work is Asymmetrical, much like the leaves I find in nature. I hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoyed making it.

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Thursday, June 17, 2010

Feeling like a "Real" Artist

2 comments: