Welcome to Portraits in Clay

This exhibit demonstrates my fascination with the face and body to reflect the mood and energy of the being and in my ability to portray it in clay. It is amazing to me how much you can tell about what is going on with a person from their stance, a look, the tilt of a shoulder or the raising of an eyebrow.

Actors and cartoonists excel in achieving this. I especially admire cartoonists who can convey so much with a simple line drawing. I love cartoons and I have studied their technique. This is especially reflected in the heads of my Spirit Bottles which reveal moods and also show relationships.

I started my figure work by expanding my love of flowers and making flower girls but these soon became portraits of special friends starting with my friend Jenny and her granddaughter as they looked at her son’s wedding. It was so much fun (but a lot of hard work too!) Then I went on to make portraits of many special people showing the things important to them in their lives. Suzanne and her kitty are a good example of this. 

The masks are an extension of my garden art and are such fun to make. They are so free and I love having them peeping out of trees or on fences or in quiet corners and surprising people.

I hope you will enjoy my work and it might make you chuckle. We all need a little something to make us smile these days.

Stella Wissner, June 2022