My imagery captures the exhaustion and exhilaration of life as both a creative artist and busy parent. My children inspire me with both their imaginative minds and animal-like energy. As I nurture and care for them, they continually feed my thoughts with their “fairytale-like” quirkiness.
But parenting is physically and emotionally demanding! The cleaning, cooking, chores, and laundry never end. The tantrums, messy diapers, and adolescent “sassiness” are emotionally draining. The babies are always clinging to me, hanging onto my arms and legs. Sometimes I look like a playground! But I love it!
My recent work explores the idea of “accessorizing” with children. Sometimes I feel as though my wardrobe consists of kids from head to toe. Instead of “artsy” or fancy accessories and jewelry, I have children hanging from my ears, neck, and arms! In a sense, the mother figure seems hidden or lost behind all the clingy creatures. But in reality, she is strengthened, clothed, and made beautiful by them. They give her layers, textures, identity.
Children’s literature is a big influence in my work, from Peter Rabbit and Curious George to the Wild Things and Grimm Fairy Tales.. (My kids LOVE stories!). Mother Goose has especially influenced me in recent works. I love the bizarre poetry about men who go to sea in a bowl, cows jumping over the moon, or dishes running away with spoons! These stories, much like my sculptures, are filled with animalistic creatures who provoke the mind to look beyond reality into the realm of the imagination.
I feel a natural connection to the animal kingdom, (mostly because my children often behave like naughty little animals!) but also because of the inherent nurturing and protective instincts that I possess as a mother. My imagery often has animalistic qualities, making my sculptures reference humanity in all its diversities.
I am amazed at how my parental experiences—the good and frustrating—fuel my imagination. I view my sculptural works much like journal entries that document my personal journeys. I often create work laden with complex dualities, showing both the suffering and joys of life.
My sculptures are handbuilt using thin, slab-like coils of clay. The glaze surfaces are built up by multifiring layers of underglaze, slips, and overglaze.
Motherhood fills my mind and life with such incredible images and experiences. The challenge for me is to keep my sanity and sense of humor as I balance my time between all the fun and craziness of parenthood and art-making. It’s been an amazing journey so far!
Born in Akron, OH in 1970, Janis Mars Wunderlich received her BFA from Brigham Young University in Utah and MFA from Ohio State University.
Her ceramic sculptures have been in numerous national and international exhibitions, including 3 solo exhibitions in the past year. She has held workshops and lectures at many museums and universities throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Janis has been the recipient of several awards and grants, including multiple fellowships from The Ohio Arts Council and The Greater Columbus Arts Council.
Janis and her husband Philip have five children. She is a full-time artist and mother!
Four-time winner of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist
Fellowship
2002, 2000, 1998, 1996
Two-time recipient of
a Greater Columbus Arts Council Individual Artist Grant
2004,
2000
Two-time winner of the Virginia A. Groot Foundation
Recognition Grant
1996, 1997
More than 70 national and international exhibitions in the past 5 years, including:
CONFRONTATIONAL
CLAY
American
Craft Museum, New York, New York
VISUAL
PERSPECTIVES:
14 YEARS OF THE VIRGINIA GROOT AWARD
SOFA,
Chicago, Illinois
NCECA CLAY NATIONAL
UNLV’s
Barrick Museum, Las
Vegas, Nevada
SCRIPPS 55th CERAMIC ANNUAL
Scripps
College’s
Chandler Gallery, Claremont, California
HEIM UND HANDWERK
Munich Convention
Hall, Munich, Germany
FIGURINES
John Elder Gallery, New York, New
York
TELLING
TALES
The
Craft Alliance, St. Louis, Missouri
AMERICAN FIGURATIVE
CLAY
Colorado
College’s
Coburn Gallery, Colorado Springs, Colorado
WOMEN’S WORLD:
A WORK IN PROGRESS
Brookfield
Craft Center, Brookfield,
Connecticut
FIGURES IN CLAY
Odyssey
Center for the Arts, Asheville, North Carolina
INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS
Society
of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Massachusetts
LOOKING IN THE MIRROR:
ASPECTS
OF FIGURATIVE CERAMICS
Riley Hawk Galleries, Columbus
and Cleveland, Ohio
DIVINE CHAOS
a solo show at Ohio
Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio
20th CENTURY DECORATIVE
WORKS OF ART
to benefit NCECA Endowment, at Sotheby’s,
New York, New York
ANIMAL MAGNETISM
Society
of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Massachusetts
ONCE UPON A TIME
Wustum
Museum of Fine Art,
Racine, Wisconsin
A MODERN BESTIARY:
ARTISTS VIEW THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
Wustum
Museum of Fine Art, Racine, Wisconsin
BEING HUMAN:
THE FIGURE EXPRESSED
Signature
Shop Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
SHORT STORIES:
NARRATIVE
CERAMIC ART
Center for Ceramic Arts, Berkeley,
California
LASTING IMPRESSIONS:
THE UNFORGETTABLE IN
CONTEMPORARY CERAMIC ART
Baltimore
Clayworks, Baltimore, Maryland
LITTLE CREATURES
Art
Gallery at Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers,
Florida
ANIMATED
EARTH:
THE MANY PERMUTATIONS OF CLAY
Craft
Alliance,
St. Louis, Missouri
SUSPENDED ANIMATION
Goldesberry
Gallery,
Houston, Texas
SMALL FIGURES
Santa
Fe Clay, Santa Fe,
New Mexico
Numerous exhibitions at:
The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Massachusetts
John Elder Gallery, New York, New York
The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, Ohio
Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, Maryland
Sybaris Gallery, Royal Oak, Michigan
Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, Massachusetts
Goldesberry Gallery, Houston, Texas
Wustum/ Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
Numerous solo exhibitions at:
Quincy Art Center, Quincy, Illinois
Figurative Gallery, La Quinta, California
Ford Gallery (Eastern Michigan University), Ypsilanti, Michigan
John Elder Gallery, New York, New York
SOFA Chicago, Illinois
Shaw Guido Gallery, Pontiac, Michigan
Numerous Lectures and Workshops throughout the US and Canada, including:
Sierra Nevada College, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico
California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California
Purdue/University of Indiana, Ft. Wayne, Indiana
Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, Maryland
Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference, Rochester, New York
Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, Ohio
The Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, Ohio
Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
Southern Ohio Art Museum, Portsmouth, Ohio
Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
Penland School of Art and Crafts, Penland, North Carolina
Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Hawken School, Cleveland Ohio
Clay Art Center, Port Chester, New York
CERAMICS MONTHLY
Feature article and cover of December 1999
issue
AMERICAN CRAFT, AMERICAN STYLE
and
others Numerous articles
THE BEST OF NEW CERAMIC ART
Featured in the book by Toni Sikes,
VISUAL PERSPECTIVES:
VIRGINIA GROOT AWARDS and CONFRONTATIONAL CLAY
Catalogues.
500 FIGURES IN CLAY and THE FIGURE IN CLAY
Featured
in the books
by Lark Books.
In the Permanent Collection at:
The Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, North Carolina
The Wustum Museum/ Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
The University of Arizona Art Museum, Tucson, Arizona
The Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
and many other public and private collections