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Words:

 

     The wonderful immediacy, when working small in clay, is turned on its head when working large.  The forms are more dictated by the clay itself.   What is structurally possible and what is not.  I push at the edge of possibility and the clay constantly teaches me in this process.   Many years as a scenic artist (IA Local 829) carving on Broadway sets and for the Metropolitan Opera House quelled my interest in tabletop scale and stirred my interest in the “tableaux vivant” experience. 

      My outdoor sculpture is large but not monumental; it is more personable in scale.   It is not derivative or representational; has no narrative, yet has a sense of being inhabited.  I am interested in the energy between the sculpture and the viewer, not in making idealized form.  All my clay sculptures are unique, a method which permits maximum spontaneity and reduces refinement.  I develop a form in series until I am sated and ready to explore another form.

Fired clay, properly installed, is a very suitable medium for outdoor sculpture, requiring little to no maintenance, has no material value as is the problem with bronze.  I am happy to discuss this with anyone who has an interest.

Contact:

     Spur-of-the-moment drop-ins, are too disruptive and so I do not have an open studio..  I do, however, welcome those who will make a prior appointment.   Contact me by email:   mudwasp@windstream.net    

Put Studio Visit in the subject line with a brief message and your contact information. I will get back to you.  Or, you may try 575 289-2417 and see what happens.

       Current Events and Associations

"Up Lifted", NMPCA Annual Celebration of Clay Show,                Best in Show Award, TCC, Taos, NM
 "Emergence"  Taos Ceramics Center 4/16- 6/4/2022 2022.

 Recipient of 2021 Sternberg Prize, Award of Excellence,                                Sculpture Walk, Evergreen, CO
         Sculpture purchase, City of Albuquerque
   Four works in the sculpture garden at the Abiquiu Inn
      

The Studio

My working Studio Area is about 1000 sq. ft. inside with outdoor work areas useful in different seasons.  The work areas allow me to overlook and interact with my garden.   The studio is kept warmer than the house in the winter as an incentive to get out there and keep working.

The kiln is a Minnesota Flattop propane fed kiln under a shed outside, to the right in the picture, Firings are highly influenced by weather conditions .

Links

Clay Studio Tour

https://nmpotters.org/sara-lee-dalessandro

NM Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts https://newmexicowomeninthearts.org/sara-lee-dalessandro

The Marks Project

Celebration of Clay

https://nmpotters.org/NMPCA-Celebration-of-Clay-2022

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