Family Circus
La Surprise Finale
Not A Toy
Gina M
Artist Statement
I was born in Minnesota and raised in California by a funky and creative family. My mother owned and operated a puppet theater in Norwalk where my family spent many weekends developing shows, building puppets and hosting birthday parties. Art and creativity were a way of life.
In all my work there is a whimsy with a dark side. My personal narrative uses innocent childhood imagery like teddy bears, toys, and puppets, to create the reactionary expressions of my inner emotional life. When something happens to me and triggers a buried emotion, a lost sentiment or a hidden pain, I must reconstruct and resurrect it outside of myself and find the story behind it.
I select materials based on their authenticity to my process. I choose clay because of its fragility, its relationship to the earth, and its tradition in arts and craft. I incorporate recycled materials such as wood and found objects because of their nostalgia and reference to aging, decay and decomposition. Encaustic wax and resins speak to my faux finish experience and love of historic art materials.
Combining assemblage with ceramics fills my current body of work. Trompe l'oeil “fool-the-eye” sculptures are made of high-fired ceramic clay, oxide washes, encaustic paint and found objects. Their homespun construction and textured surfaces simulate threadbare fabric, tattered fur, and the broken button eyes of careworn, faded toys and carnival games.