Marc Jenesel

Ceramist

I have always been involved in the visual arts in some form: video, photography, illustration, sculpture and printmaking. At the same time, much of my education is in the sciences. I’ve always felt that art and science run parallel courses: as science has become more abstract and “out there” so has art. I think that to have a well-rounded education in the arts you must also study the sciences.

I work as a graphics artist and animator, immersed in the virtual world of computers during the day. Then I go home and throw clay, “play in the mud”. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum. I create vessels that I fire raku. Here science merges with art as I research how to obtain the range of color from the glazes, through chemistry and post-firing reduction. I love the range of colors and textures that are raku and I am just now scratching the surface of possibilities.

Recently I have been creating raku pieces that I alter and give to Karen Pierce, who furthers the piece by attaching spokes and weaving dyed fibers and other materials into a woven sculpture. I try to avoid “art directing” her work, which requires trust and giving up my attachment to the final product. I’m very thrilled with this process of collaboration and I believe it has resulted in an unconventional and elegant union of clay and fiber.

My work has evolved from traditional basketry to more contemporary woven sculpture, recently incorporating ceramic vessels created by Marc Jenesel. I frequently use traditional weaving techniques and materials from around the world in unconventional ways to create one-of-a-kind pieces. I weave free hand without molds and color the fibers with dye or paint.

It is an enjoyable challenge to receive a beautiful raku vessel from Marc and decide where to go from there with color, shape and size. While we collaborate on each piece and may discuss style and technique, we try not to “art direct” each other’s work.

Weaving is a slow, rhythmic and painstaking process that is like a form of meditation for me. As a piece grows I love to watch seemingly lifeless materials join to form a new body of their own with a unique look, touch and smell. Each piece tells me when it is “done”.

The inspiration for my art often comes in the form of a dream, a waking image or simply a title or phrase.