Biographical Information:
The artist Nancy Wood Pink emerged as an adult from a conformist, repressive upbringing in Pasadena, California. With a degree in art from Cal State Long Beach, she taught and made art for 25 years. In retirement, she discovered her true artistic medium—ceramics. As a ceramic sculptor, Wood Pink believes in creating works which are beautiful in form and movement and which are easily appreciated and understood without being condescending or simplistic. Having finally found the courage to identify publicly as an artist, her journey is just beginning. Stay tuned!
Artist Statement:
Cliché or essential truth? Art feeds my soul as a maker, and I hope my work feeds the souls of its viewers. As an art teacher, I spent 25 years guiding students to understand fine art, but not making any art myself. In retirement, I have surprisingly discovered that I’m a ceramic sculptor! I strive to produce works that are often beautiful, sometimes quirky, and always full of life, mirroring humanity’s best qualities. My personality is straightforward and down to earth, and I want my work to be so as well.
Like many artists, I adapt the essential qualities of natural forms to my sculptures. There are no straight lines in nature, and none in my work either. I emphasize the element of form and generally find texture and color somewhat distracting. Nature is movement and growth; I attempt to bring an illusion of upward striving to clay, an inherently quiet, gravity based medium. Sketching is a good first step, but often the forms morph under my hands to what they want to be, not what I had planned.
Honestly, as a relative newcomer to three-dimensional art, I am still finding voice and direction. It’s a challenge for me to make work that is harmonious but not static. Although I think my pieces are successful when if they are light and balletic, seeming to be arrested in motion, they still have to be stable and strong physically. With no training in sculpture, I’m learning that balance by trial and error!
