Nicole Wood

More Ceramics

This was the last group of sculptures I made in my ceramics class. I've continued making ceramics in addition to my other artwork. I found a small art school near my house where I can get stuff fired.

Untitled (Sleeping Woman)
(4''x7''x2'')

Flower
(20''x15''x2'' This hangs on the wall and the screw is part of the artwork.)

Inside Out Starfish
(14''x14''x5'')

Shitbird

(This piece is 7''x7''x3'' and it hangs at eye level. The title was a result of my tendency to give things nicknames. A friend of mine had been given the nickname Shitbird and around the same time I made this art work. I realized later that this piece was a portrait of my friend.)

Spring 2010

These ceramic sculptures are satirical responses to the difficulty that ensues when reality and desire do not resemble each other.

Wanting More

(14''x9''x13'' My friend titled this one Please when I sold it at the Josua Tree swapmeet. The person that bought this piece has a good sense of humor. I realized then that finding the right buyer makes selling artwork a lot more satisfying.)

Terror After Terror
(20''x12''x10'')

Pizza Face

(20''x14''x1'' When I imagine giving up, this is what I see.)

Ouroboris (reconsidered)
(3''x20''x20'')

Good Clean Fun

My friend Kitty started taking a ceramics class. Eventually I caught on and signed up for a class of my own. Going to class was like going to a party, except everyone was having fun making stuff so there was less emphasis on coming up with something smart to say. Thank you Kitty.

Spontaneous Combustion and/or Melt

Untitled (spewing book)

Gag Sandwich

Telephone

Microscopic Daydreams

Talking Head

Death Cake

Untitled (idea for a beer commercial)

Family

Above is an example of a figurine made during the Occupied Japan era. Within this genre there was a tendency to group porcelain figurines into families and chain them together. I am not sure whether I am attracted to the formal qualities of the objects themselves or the exceptional circumstances surrounding this time period. Either way, these objects have repeatedly influenced my work. Below is the outcome of this influence. Each poop is crowned with an object of worldly importance.

Untitled

Happy Halloween!

The working title for this piece was Web of Lies. It was shown at the Sundown Hullabaloo earlier this month. The sculptures on the web are meant to simultaneously resemble both familiar and foreign objects. Their attributes seem disingenuous or even confusing so as to evoke in the viewer a sense of powerlessness. I am trying to recreate the feeling of anxiety one gets when one lacks agency over the objects they rely on to survive.

Details

Miscellanea

These were started as portraits last winter. However, they turned out differently than the others. In a way, their grotesque characteristics are more closely related to the spider web piece that followed.

One more portrait...

Bridging the Gap

This series is about the physicality of sculpture bridging the gap between author and viewer. To emphasize the desire for communication to occur, the "punchline" of each artwork is exaggeratedly simplistic. From top to bottom: No Escape, Untitled (running legs), and Giant Tongue.