ABOUT NORA SARKISSIAN

 

 

 I have been a visual and occasional performing artist, for the past 25 years.  I've taught through SPECTRA, cultural council in Santa Cruz County & parks & Recreations  & Art Centers in & around the Bay area & in Massachusetts. 

This year I began an ongoing writing project.  A post modern type of fairy tale, called, Conversations with a Wolf.  The description below conveys the style for the sculpture I create & in which I write as well.

As a ceramic artist.

     I enjoy pushing the boundaries of the clay medium.

I use the techniques of studio pottery to convey the philosophies of subconscious imagery and stream of consciousness prose to push ceramics out of its traditional utilitarian realm.  This type of working becomes ceramic sculpture.

C.G. Jung referred to subconscious imagery as "prima materia" this idea is central to my work.  The sculptures I create are unfiltered poetic expressions;  they are whimsical and animated images of man and nature drawn from personal experience as well as mythology.  Each piece is a journey, as I work I allow each image to emerge spontaneously from the previous one, a metaphor for the soul's journey.

     My materials consist of clay and a variety of stains and glazes.  Found objects may be used.  I layer and fire the pieces according to a specific process of experimentation to achieve the effect I desire.  The pieces are at times collage like, as there are various components woven together, much like our lives.  Imagery as metaphor brought together in order to create symbolic narratives.  A piece is completed when I feel it captures the idea I wish it to convey.

      Although a native of Massachusetts, over the past 30 years I have spent time in Germany, England, Boulder CO, San Francisco, Providence, and now reside and work in Santa Cruz, CA.  I was a potter's apprentice in Germany, Acting school in London, certificate in Waldorf Education, & a certificate in Expressive Arts, from Salve Regine U. & The Creative Process.  My undergraduate studies were completed at U. Mass and The Naropa Institute.  I received an MFA from San Jose State U.  I currently teach creative clay classes to children and adults in Santa Cruz and the Bay area.  I exhibit my work in the Bay area and at The San Francisco Womens Gallery, and in and around the Bay area & the country.

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