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 Conference Presenter – Lis-el CrowleyI’ve always been interested in making stuff. As a child, I believed you couldn’t be an artist unless you could draw really, really well. I never quite felt I could draw well enough to be an "artist", so I never tried. It took me many years to realize that creative expression takes many forms. It springs from the depths of the soul, and is an essential aspect of wholeness.I found my creative direction through pottery, and worked as a potter for over 20 years. A few surgeries which put me out of commission for making pottery lead me to try metalsmithing, glass fusing, and METAL CLAY! I am now primarily a jewelry artisan who does pottery when she has time. I love art clay silver and enjoy exploring various ways of working with it. My passion for creating and helping others get in touch with their own creativity lead me to open Art & Soul Gallery/Studio in Windsor, CT in the summer of 2005. At the Gallery, I showcase my work and the work of over 35 local artists and artisans as well as teaching a variety of classes and workshops in Art Clay Silver, Glass Fusing, Metalsmithing, Mosaics and whatever else I can think of. I take great pleasure in helping people discover just how creative they really are. It is so gratifying to see someone who felt "creatively challenged" light up when they realize what they are capable of. Metal Clay is a media that can really awaken the creative genius in anyone and I am so happy to have discovered it. My work is exhibited at the Wadsworth Atheneum gift shop in Hartford, CT, the Brookfield Craft Center in Brookfield, CT, Wesleyan Potters in Middletown, CT, Farmington Valley Art Center in Farmington, CT and various shops and shows throughout Connecticut. I have taught for over 30 years in a variety of venues and media. One of my favorite quotes is from Bill Moyers – "Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous." May you find the marvelous inherent in every moment. |
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Conference Presentation Overview:Faces and masks have always fascinated me. My first attempts at creating metal clay faces were interesting, but not quite what I wanted. I ended up using a lot of clay and didn’t have enough time to sculpt before the clay dried. I didn’t want to use a generic mold, so I began to experiment with cork clay and then polymer clay. I am not a sculptor or fine artist, but I came up with a way to create molds for draping which could be used over and over again. The process of creating each face and giving it personality and presence is endlessly fascinating to me.
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