ARTIST STATEMENT

For 40 years, I have created clay sculptures, gradually mastering the technical aspects of the medium and constantly searching for the best way to express my ideas. While I have created some purely abstract sculptures, I find myself returning again and again to the face and figure as the best vehicles for saying something about the human condition. Recently my larger work has focused on protection–of myself, my family and my community–and warding off the dangers of a threatening world. Some figures stand as sentinels, others are protected by shells, spines and claws, or hold talismans to ward off evil.

Throughout my art career, I have focused on issues related to women and their struggles with identity, relationships and meaning. For example, I have created a series of female figures split in many parts that tell a story of the multiple demands on the lives of so many women. I have also grappled with issues related to politics, race, and climate change in my work.

I enjoy designing simplified figures with curved planes and clean lines that guide the eye around the piece.I don’t generally use much color on my pieces, encouraging the viewer to focus on the form rather than the surface. I work in a variety of clay bodies, from heavily grogged sculpture clays to stoneware and raku clays. I build a solid form, work it to the right shape, hollow it out for firing, and finish the surface with serrated loop and wood tools. I generally fire to cone 5 (2170 degrees) and finish the surface with waxes, acrylics or oxides.

ARTIST BIO
Mary Lee Kerr received training at art schools and studios around the country, including the Torpedo Factory in Virginia, the Loveland Academy of Art in Colorado, the Scottsdale Artists’ School in Arizona, Touchstone Center for Crafts in Pennsylvania, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. She has exhibited her sculptures in statewide juried exhibits in Pennsylvania and North Carolina and shown work in galleries and art shows in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Australia. She has also taught sculpture, mentored young artists, and currently serves on the board of the Durham Art Guild.