Jenni Ward

Artist Statement

Jenni Ward's mission is to share the beauty she sees in the natural world through her art. Inspired by biological forms with a particular focus on structures, she finds her time spent connecting to her environment and exploring way above and way below sea level as an integral part of her work. She takes inspiration from those places to create abstract interpretations of forms and structures through thoughtfully crafted ceramic sculptures. Using clay as her primary medium, she builds in parts and assembles the pieces into ephemeral installations in nature, in galleries and as independent objects. Her work plays with the connectivity of the form to its environment and in turn the connectivity of herself to the natural world.

Bio

Jenni Ward is a ceramic sculptor and installation artist, originally from West Orange, New Jersey but currently based in Santa Cruz, California. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Hartford Art School in West Hartford, Connecticut in 1998. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally since then including the de Saisset Museum, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History and the Grants Pass Museum of Art. She has been invited to residencies around the world, and most recently spent 3 months at the Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taiwan. She has created public art projects in Sweden, Florida and California.She is passionate about working with clay to build abstract forms and installations that reflect the beauty of the natural world and can often be found wondering the forests, mountains or tide pools near her California studio for inspiration. She has a passion for adventure and travel often finding inspiration through her exploration. A natural teacher and philanthropist, she shares her creativity with students of all ages through her business Earth Art Studio which opened in 2005 and abroad through philanthropic projects, which have involved working with children, artists and communities in post-earthquake Haiti.