Gesture Drawing with Clay

Rabbit by Trudy Skari
"The Vast Chasm Of Indifference Melted Before He Could Change His Mind" Ceramic Sculpture by Trudy Skari
“The Vast Chasm Of Indifference Melted Before He Could Change His Mind” Ceramic Sculpture by Trudy Skari

I want to introduce a friend of mine, a sister artist and one of the artists represented by my contemporary fine art gallery, 1+1=1 Gallery.

Trudy Skari is seriously cool

Trudy works intuitively, quickly, and with her whole body, heart and spirit. Her ceramic sculptures seem to come from some other-world, a dream world, a world of childhood memories or a place in nature that lives inside her. Having studied psychology, philosophy, then depth psychology and world religions, Trudy is greatly influenced by mythology and Creation stories from around the world. Her other influences are Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung and the open prairies of Montana.

"What a Flower Knows" by Trudy Skari
“What a Flower Knows” by Trudy Skari

Like someone who does gestural life-drawings from a model moving through quick poses, Trudy uses scraps and bits of clay to sculpt an implication of a flower … or the essence of a rabbit, bear, fox or dog.

"Serena Finally Gets It" by Trudy Skari
“Serena Finally Gets It” by Trudy Skari

She constantly learns new ceramic techniques and experiments to push herself and her art beyond the obvious. I love her work! I love having it in our gallery and looking at it — deeply — every day.

Each time I look at Trudy’s sculpture of the goddess, “Pele´ Eats a Fish,” I see some other aspect of the feminine, some other level of meaning. Trudy told me she was thinking of titling the piece “On Her Day Off Pele´ Eats Sushi.” This makes me think of how we all have different aspects of ourselves co-existing inside of us: masculine and feminine; adult and child; light and dark; serious and funny; out-there and in-here …

Detail of "Pele´Eats A Fish" by Trudy Skari
Detail: “Pele´Eats a Fish” by Trudy Skari

Wouldn’t a god or goddess also have co-existing personality aspects? Wouldn’t Pele´– goddess of volcanoes and all things explosive, also have a softer side when she’s taking the day off? And wouldn’t a softness also have a bit of harsh-reality tossed in for balance? So … on her day off, maybe Pele´ wears curlers in her hair, cooks (the spatula) and dives deep into her ocean world to catch and eats fish.  She even looks fish-like. And so beautiful in an earthy, watery way.

"Pele´Eats A Fish" by Trudy Skari
“Pele´Eats A Fish” by Trudy Skari

 

Detail, Polar Bear by Trudy Skari
Detail, Polar Bear by Trudy Skari
Polar Bear by Trudy Skari
Polar Bear by Trudy Skari

Trudy Skari, Artist Statement:

I find that the objects I make are sometimes part of an unspoken narrative. Rather, they reside under or beside the formulated word or thought. At times the piece goes dallying around in some poetic realm and finishes sentences I was not aware I had uttered. The realm of image is forged in a different light than the realm of word. Like the visible spectrum the imaginal realm has a range that is just outside of the awareness to human senses but wide open to human insight, consciousness and our desire for making meaning.

Animals so are present in our understanding of how we navigate the environment, they protect us from our rigidity and ground us in our mammalian firmament. They are however always other, even if we anthropomorphize them to aid in our understanding. My attempt is to create an animal-ness that functions on a level of knowing and not knowing at the same time. It all works best when a balance is found between the gesture and the intent.

Trudy is represented in Helena, Montana by 1+1=1 Gallery. Her ceramic sculptures will be available for viewing during regular business hours at the gallery located at 434 N. Last Chance Gulch. Please call 406.431.9931 for more information about Trudy’s work.

More of Trudy’s artwork available at 1+!=1 Gallery. If you are interested in any of her pieces, call or email [email protected]