Constance McBride - Artaxis.org

In this series including Lonely Girl Room 3400, clay and wires were used to illuminate memory issues related to Alzheimer’s disease through a gendered lens. Watching my mother navigate her remaining years while living with the disease coupled with statistics indicating among other things that women with dementia outnumber men two to one, created a sense of urgency in me to make a lot of them. Layers of color were applied using hazelnut mason stain and wax. Text was carved into this one including a poem about aging written by my sister along with quotes regarding dementia. The room number refers to the one room women were reduced to living in while living out their last days in a nursing home. It was also written into their clothes tags (reminiscent of kindergarten) yet, clothes were lost all the time and my mother had someone else's on many times.

Constance McBride - "Lonely Girl Room 3400"
2021, 20" x 12" x 8", Media: Mixed Media, Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Surface: Oxide
In this series including Lonely Girl Room 3400, clay and wires were used to illuminate memory issues related to Alzheimer’s disease through a gendered lens. Watching my mother navigate her remaining years while living with the disease coupled with statistics indicating among other things that women with dementia outnumber men two to one, created a sense of urgency in me to make a lot of them. Layers of color were applied using hazelnut mason stain and wax. Text was carved into this one including a poem about aging written by my sister along with quotes regarding dementia. The room number refers to the one room women were reduced to living in while living out their last days in a nursing home. It was also written into their clothes tags (reminiscent of kindergarten) yet, clothes were lost all the time and my mother had someone else's on many times.

Whisperers is a series I began in 2015 after losing my mother to Alzheimer's disease the previous year. Ancestors like past selves, continue to whisper. Body parts expand and contract while layers of life add up. The cold surface treatment is graphite. I continue to make these in various configurations by connecting two, three, five (and sometimes more) heads together.

Constance McBride - "Whisperers"
2015, 10" x 13" x 11", Media: Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Surface: Unglazed
Whisperers is a series I began in 2015 after losing my mother to Alzheimer's disease the previous year. Ancestors like past selves, continue to whisper. Body parts expand and contract while layers of life add up. The cold surface treatment is graphite. I continue to make these in various configurations by connecting two, three, five (and sometimes more) heads together.

Constance McBride - "Lonely Girl Room 4732 (detail)"
2021, n/a, Media: Mixed Media, Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Oxide

In the series, The Lonely Girls, featuring Lonely Girl Room 4732, clay and wires were used to illuminate memory issues related to Alzheimer’s disease through a gendered lens. Watching my mother navigate her remaining years while living with the disease coupled with statistics indicating among other things that women with dementia outnumber men two to one, created a sense of urgency in me to make several of them. Layers of color were applied using under glazes, stains, oxides and textured glazes. Text was carved into many of them including poems about aging along with quotes regarding dementia.

Constance McBride - "Lonely Girl Room 4732"
2021, 20" x 12" x 8", Media: Mixed Media, Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Oxide
In the series, The Lonely Girls, featuring Lonely Girl Room 4732, clay and wires were used to illuminate memory issues related to Alzheimer’s disease through a gendered lens. Watching my mother navigate her remaining years while living with the disease coupled with statistics indicating among other things that women with dementia outnumber men two to one, created a sense of urgency in me to make several of them. Layers of color were applied using under glazes, stains, oxides and textured glazes. Text was carved into many of them including poems about aging along with quotes regarding dementia.

Between Two Worlds (figure only) was created in 2017 and was featured at Phoenix Art Museum along with Truth from Within. The installation it was placed in was created in 2020. Materials for the figure include copper carbonate, wax and wire.

Constance McBride - "Between Two Worlds (detail view)"
2020, the figure is 21" x 57" x 9", Media: Mixed Media, Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Oxide, Unglazed
Between Two Worlds (figure only) was created in 2017 and was featured at Phoenix Art Museum along with Truth from Within. The installation it was placed in was created in 2020. Materials for the figure include copper carbonate, wax and wire.

The installation "Between Two Worlds" was created in 2020 when I had an opportunity to mount it along with another series "The Lonely Girls" in conjoined galleries. My piece "Between Two Worlds" previously exhibited alone on a plinth, was placed within desert debris from an earlier installation to comment on the aging process and the cycle of life. Materials included animal bones, cacti spines, sand, dirt, pebbles and various other bits gathered in the Sonoran Preserve of Phoenix, AZ. Some were dipped numerous times in slip, painted with crawl glazes and fired, some were left raw while others were coated with milk and/or chalk paint. Materials for the figure include stoneware paper clay, copper carbonate, wax and wire.

Constance McBride - "Between Two Worlds - aerial view"
2020, 10' x 10' x 9", Media: Mixed Media, Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Glazed, Non-ceramic, Oxide, Unglazed
The installation "Between Two Worlds" was created in 2020 when I had an opportunity to mount it along with another series "The Lonely Girls" in conjoined galleries. My piece "Between Two Worlds" previously exhibited alone on a plinth, was placed within desert debris from an earlier installation to comment on the aging process and the cycle of life. Materials included animal bones, cacti spines, sand, dirt, pebbles and various other bits gathered in the Sonoran Preserve of Phoenix, AZ. Some were dipped numerous times in slip, painted with crawl glazes and fired, some were left raw while others were coated with milk and/or chalk paint. Materials for the figure include stoneware paper clay, copper carbonate, wax and wire.

Truth from Within - side view - image from Phoenix Art Museum

Constance McBride - "Truth from Within (side view)"
2016, 20" x 36" x 14", Media: Mixed Media, Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Glazed, Oxide
Truth from Within - side view - image from Phoenix Art Museum

Truth from Within (Childs Pose) was created after the 2016 election when I could only find solace in my Yoga practice. It was featured at Pheonix Art Museum in 2017 and in this case, at a studio tour in a historic barn in Chester County, PA. Materials for the figure include stoneware paper clay, copper carbonate, stains, wax and wire. I surrounded it with some of my desert debris to enhance the viewers' experience.

Constance McBride - "Truth from Within"
2016, 20" x 36" x 14", Media: Mixed Media, Stoneware, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Glazed, Oxide
Truth from Within (Childs Pose) was created after the 2016 election when I could only find solace in my Yoga practice. It was featured at Pheonix Art Museum in 2017 and in this case, at a studio tour in a historic barn in Chester County, PA. Materials for the figure include stoneware paper clay, copper carbonate, stains, wax and wire. I surrounded it with some of my desert debris to enhance the viewers' experience.

Detail image of Installation "Liminal Spaces" (Southwest Desert)

Constance McBride - "Liminal Spaces (SW Desert - detail)"
2022, n/a, Media: Mixed Media, Non-clay, Stoneware, Wild Clay/Raw Clay, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Glazed, Non-ceramic, Oxide, Unglazed
Detail image of Installation "Liminal Spaces" (Southwest Desert)

Liminal Spaces references life transitions and life cycles using an ancient Celtic symbol and elements in nature that exist within natural environments. For this recent installation, I began with raw materials to create a design reminiscent of a labyrinth; a sacred place to reflect and center oneself in the midst of chaos. The desert spirals were created with bits from a previous installation using sand, dirt and collected bits of debris from the Sonoran Desert in Phoenix. I used ceramic techniques to preserve some bits by dipping them in clay slip, coating with crawl glazes and firing them in a kiln. Some were fired numerous times, others only once. Other bits were coated in chalk and milk paint, and some were left raw.

Constance McBride - "Liminal Spaces (Southwest Desert)"
2022, 12" x 19' x 3', Media: Mixed Media, Non-clay, Stoneware, Wild Clay/Raw Clay, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Unfired, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Glazed, Non-ceramic, Oxide, Unglazed
Liminal Spaces references life transitions and life cycles using an ancient Celtic symbol and elements in nature that exist within natural environments. For this recent installation, I began with raw materials to create a design reminiscent of a labyrinth; a sacred place to reflect and center oneself in the midst of chaos. The desert spirals were created with bits from a previous installation using sand, dirt and collected bits of debris from the Sonoran Desert in Phoenix. I used ceramic techniques to preserve some bits by dipping them in clay slip, coating with crawl glazes and firing them in a kiln. Some were fired numerous times, others only once. Other bits were coated in chalk and milk paint, and some were left raw.

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Artist Statement

My work throws light on issues experienced by most women—from becoming aware of the male gaze and self-objectifying, to harassment, abuse, marginalization and ageism. Simultaneously, women struggle to remain relevant, take care of their physical and mental health, and maintain financial stability. I've had firsthand experience with all of it; from finding my way as a young single mother to having spent a large chunk of my adult years in a male dominated corporate world, to navigating the art world later in life. My uncompromising figures are informed by these matters. I create deliberate parallels between my materials and how women are treated in society. I often use clay—a medium historically excluded from the fine art world—to illustrate how age is explicitly linked to failure for women. The pieces are hand built and sometimes include bits of fabric, found objects, metals and nature. I apply surface treatments like colored clay slips, pastels, stains, oxides and graphite to emphasize the textures and characteristics of living, breathing skin. I display my figures as solitary objects on plinths or hung on walls to create an intimate viewing experience, or as part of larger installations—interacting with paintings, collages and other related works to foster an immersive environment. Since relocating from the Southwest back to the Northeast, installations are evolving as I adapt to my environment and consider ways my work is being influenced by it. I'm creating work to illuminate the contributions of women through a lens of strength and resilience.

Bio

Constance McBride (b. Philadelphia, PA) delves into gender-based issues with ceramic sculpture, installations and mixed media. Recent awards include grants from The Puffin Foundation, Philadelphia Sculptors, Phoenix Art Museum’s Contemporary Forum, Arizona Commission on the Arts and a position in the 2021 Chautauqua Visual Arts Summer Residency Program in Chautauqua, New York. Her work is shown nationally in the USA and abroad. Notable exhibitions include a solo at Tubbs Gallery (Rehoboth Beach, DE), a Contemporary Forum Grant Recipients show at Phoenix Art Museum (Phoenix, AZ), Craft Forms at Wayne Art Center (Wayne, PA), The Clay Studio National (Philadelphia, PA) and Beyond the Brickyard at Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts (Helena, MT). In 2018, McBride spent five weeks as a resident facilitator/art educator at Sias University in Xinzheng and villages in and around Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China via a World Academy for the Future of Women and US State Department grant. Her work has received attention from several publications including Yahoo News Cities Rising series, Philly Artblog, Cleaver Magazine, Java Magazine and the international magazines Inspirational and Ceramics Now. Currently based in Chester Springs, PA she teaches Sculpture and Hand Building at Clay on Main in Oley, PA and is a host of the show Art Watch at WCHE Radio Station in West Chester, PA. McBride earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Arcadia University, Glenside, PA.