Terrestrial Teapot
Chiara Nena S.S.
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Growing up I made sculptures out of found natural objects, from mandalas to fairy houses. Art was a daily activity and is part of the fabric of who I am. I began ceramics classes in middle school and loved the freedom of clay; it was forgiving and of the earth. My process with sculpting has been iterative; the final work reveals itself over time. My current, more structured approach is to sketch out my ideas, revise them, and create paper prototypes before starting to work with clay. I take the concept assigned in class and try to not follow any script. For example, my piece “Fallen Angel” is technically a birdhouse (there’s a hole in her back between the wings) of a delicate angel sculpture, and my carved “Eiffel Tower” was a slab box project.
Covid-19 impacted my art; my coronavirus inspired piece, Covid Muse, which I created in my garage during remote learning, did not get fired. Also, I was unable to include ceramics in my Junior course schedule because of scheduling changes.
Andy Goldsworthy’s work is an inspiration: I love the shocking variation in color and texture he finds in natural objects and the sweeping lines of his undulating stone walls. These same curves are found in Ruth Asawa’s ephemeral woven sculptures and in the majestic metal walls of Richard Serra. Jenny Holtzer is an inspiration for her unflinching gaze. I aspire to find similar ways to make social statements in my future work, while also continuing to find inspiration in natural lines and textures.
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In whatever work I do I’m very interested in creating movement in the composition, a fluidity in the composition. When I start creating it becomes very natural, and I hold on to the current of creativity that begins to flow and let it whirl me along.
