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Artist: Becky Dennis
Artists » Becky Dennis
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Craft Medium:
Clay
Artist's Statement: My hand sculpted “Art in Clay” creations are inspired by my daydreams, night visions, synchronistic life experiences and immense reverence for ALL of Nature's gifts. My work explores the intimate dance between forces of reality and fantasy, light and dark, as well as permanence and impermanence. All of the pieces are uniquely hand created from clay slabs or coils that are assembled together. There are inSpirational messages or stories on the back of each of my clay pieces. Most of them are wall-hangings. My focus is the quality of the work and I devote my full attention to each piece. Most of my glazes are mixed from chemical recipes. I utilize various firing techniques including stoneware, raku and salt sagar. All of the pieces are made with attention to detail and many actually survived hurricane Katrina. Clay has taught me many things in life, including the art of patience and persistence. Generally, I create pieces that present a challenge and I allow my work to continually change and hopefully improve. I have found that when I create what I love, the money does follow. Life is a beautiful and amazing Journey and I try to enjoy the ride!
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Artist Works:
Artist Biography:
Artistic Perception and Brief Biography of Becky Dennis
My hand sculpted “Art in Clay” creations are inspired by my daydreams, night visions, synchronistic life experiences and immense reverence for ALL of Nature's gifts. My work explores the intimate dance between forces of reality and fantasy, light and dark, as well as permanence and impermanence. In truth, I believe that every single thing is made of energy and is inexplicably interconnected, interdependent, and infinite. Creating in clay is the method that I choose to express my perception of things. Mystical stories and messages are easily communicated through the medium of clay.
In my life, it has become important for me to move past superficial appearances and apparent illusion to examine the deeper meaning of things. Being a ceramic artist has taught me to be more patient with the Creative Process and to bring my full attention to the powerful present moment.
Living through hurricane Katrina, recovering from it and then experiencing my Father's death in 2007 has helped me see that there is beauty in the so-called ugly things. Often we want to avoid the unpleasant things since they knock us off our feet and take our breath away. Since I continually experience amazing synchronicities in my life and in connection with other people, there is always a story or inspired mystical message on the back. It is perfect for the Receiver of the ART. It is my desire that my clay creations be as beautiful and thoughtful on the inside or back, as on the outside.
My clay pieces represent and express the connection that I have cultivated between my head and my heart. It is my belief that we are certainly influenced by our life experiences, but mostly by our "response" to them. We must learn to observe and respond with loving kindness and awareness, rather than blindly reacting to things. This often involves simply remembering to BREATHE and taking time to connect with the LOVE within our hearts, even when we are in pain.
Since Katrina arrived on August 29th, 2005, and swallowed up so much beauty along our Mississippi Gulf Coast, as well as Louisiana and Alabama, my work often reflects Life Lessons learned from this transformative event and the many experiences that have followed. As I often say: "Life is Art". I believe that I am living an "artful" life.
At this time, we are all facing major shifts and changes on the planet and in our lives. I feel a bit more prepared since I have already experienced so many transformations. I have lived on the coast since 1980 and it feels like home. My Father was in the Air Force, so I spent most of my life moving from state to state and foreign countries, until I went to college and we settled on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1980. My major in college was actually nursing and I worked as a registered nurse for over 15 years. I released it to pursue my passion of Clay Art in 1999 and have never looked back.
Months after hurricane katrina, many of my wonderful and sacred customers found undamaged clay creations that I had made in the rubble and debris of their flooded, storm damaged homes. As so many sifted through the remnants of their former lives, they were overwhelmed to find even one piece from their past. My wonderful and compassionate veterinarian found a turtle wall-hanging that a friend had previously gifted her, in the mud of her home. It had baby sea turtles hatching and emerging from the sand with the message "may you weather the storms of life with LOVE." She was very moved by that message since her husband was also dying of cancer at that time. She has saved many of our cats over the years. Although folks are still trying to recover on many levels after nearly four years, we are strong and resilient as we rebuild our lives. .
Ironically, the day before Katrina, I saw at least six large writing spiders in our backyard. Although so many people were left homeless, those simple spiders had rebuilt their web homes within a few days. Our lush coastal garden paradise was transformed into a leafless winter wasteland by 12 hours of 120 plus mile an hour winds. My husband and I stayed in our home with our seven cats as the hurricane hit. We took all the necessary precautions and then waited. Fortunately, we live on "high ground" less than a mile from the beach and we did not flood. Most of my friends and my Parents did experience major flooding. We spend the next few years repairing and restoring things.
In the midst of our often very materialistic world, learning to live consciously with LOVE and Gratitude for all that IS continues to be a challenge. What is most important to me is living with awareness and creating a balanced and beautiful LIFE. I want to live more slowly and find JOY in the smallest and most simple things. My Spiritual partner and husband, Chris Nelson, facilitates the manifestation of such a beautiful life. It truly gives me great pleasure to be in the present moment as it unfolds. I attempt to hold that sense of wonder and awe in my consciousness as I work in clay and transfer all of the LOVE that I feel into the piece that I am working on.
Many months after the storm when I was able to work in the studio again, I found myself creating spider webs with written messages on the front and back. It brought peace to my apparently broken world. Most of my Life Journey has involved healing of myself and others. As I ponder the deeper connections that exist among people on our planet, I would encourage an exploration of our commonalities rather than a focus on our differences. It is through an integrated approach to life that we will heal ourselves and our planet. There are magical Connections IF we have the eyes and heart to see them. My "art in clay" is simply a reflection of my current state of consciousness and expresses the love that I feel for nature’s gifts.
Artist Website Email to Becky Dennis
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