Judy Nelson-Moore

I work in clay because it allows me to express something deeper than spoken words and rational thought. I express the experience of encountering the natural world as well as the inner psychology of life.

When I go into the studio to work with clay, I am concerned about the technical aspects of engineering the clay and the aesthetic shapes in space. I let the clay tell me what form it should take. Later, when I look at the pieces, they begin to take on stories that speak of future or past aspects of the life around me. The stories may be written down and become part of the piece. Other times, the stories are hinted at through the titles and left for the viewer to narrate for themselves.

I like to push the clay as far as I can, as if to stretch its potential (or maybe my own?). The forms are a response to my emotions, reactions to people and activities that are in my thoughts at the time, but most of all to the land forms and natural world around me. Immersing myself in natural landscapes is healing and renewing. To me, earth landscapes are a counterpoint to the landscapes of our lives...the hills, valleys, grottoes, plains and persona of our minds. My pieces are the way I trace my journey through the landscapes of the mind.