Ellen has experience in anthropology, medical illustration, exotic animal care and stop motion animation and entrepreneurial endeavors. She has found what seems to be a lucrative way to weave her art with her academic biological interests….synthetic taxidermy!
Talk about blending your diverse interests; Check out Ellen Jewett‘s work!
“Over time I find my sculptures are evolving to be of greater emotional presence by using less physical substance: I subtract more and more to increase the negative space. The element of weight, which has always seemed so fundamentally tied to the medium of sculpture, is stripped away and the laws of gravity are no longer in full effect.”
Her sculptures are dreamlike. She states that the unconventional look and feel of her work is a phenomena arising from the desire to avoid using toxic materials which are the most commonly available to artists. She is conscious to “source the natural, the local, the low impact and, always, the authentic.”
How does she do it?!
“Each sculpture is handmade and painted with no more tools than fingers and a paint brush. By virtue of this primal process, each creation is completely unique and produced in a fluid and intuitive manner. The process begins with a handmade metal armature over which light weight clay is sculpted. The painting is executed with acrylic, mineral and oil pigments and the embedded eyes are glass. When complete the whole piece is glazed to intensify colour and strength. With inspiration derived from animal physiology and a love of the fantastic, grotesque and absurd, each sculpture is unique and personable. The detailed craftsmanship is rich and thoughtful and never cast molded or replicated.”
You HAVE to check out her site to read more. Perhaps I’ll also pick her brain and interview her on blending art and science for this site!!
all images via Ellen.
I found some of her older work shown on Visual News here and Laughing Squid here.
Other Talented Science Artists I know:
Nina Arens – blending art, science, and museums
Allison Kudla – blending art, science and technology
Ellen Jewett – blending sculpture, art, science and animal physiology
Arie van ‘t Riet – blending nature with X-Rays
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