- WELCOME
- STATEMENTS
DISTANT RELATIVES:
While my interests run the gamut from genetically altered foods to tattoos, I have always held a special place in my heart for all cultural images. I am truly intrigued by the way different cultures express themselves through their arts. Because of this, my pieces frequently include imagery taken out of context and placed in a contemporary Western context. This juxtaposition, for me, makes an interesting contrast. In past pieces, I have used imagery appropriated from Italy, Greece, Japan, Africa, Egypt, Mexico and the American Indian. For several years I have collected Peruvian Grave dolls and have been inspired by their beautiful textiles and patterns, so I decided that I would research the subject and create my own version of these dolls. In doing so, I discovered that in Inca times, and even long before the Incas founded their empire, a person's tools of trade were buried with him along with a supply of food; the weaver would have her loom, the fisherman, his nets, etc. These people did not believe that they were to be reincarnated, but rather that the deceased were going on a journey and would have need of these supplies.
When a child died, small pottery dishes, extra clothing, and dolls were interred with them, so that they would not be lonely on their journey from the grave. Some of these dolls have been recovered in excellent condition because the soil in which they were buried was so dry; photos of these objects give us an excellent example of what the originals looked like. They bear only a small resemblance to the reproductions which I and many others collect today, as the originals are the property of the Peruvian government and cannot legally be taken out of the country. Many of the reproductions have arms with separate fingers made from twigs wrapped in colorful yarn. The originals also had legs made from wrapped twigs. In my images, I've employed cast doll hands to add a component used on contemporary dolls to contrast with the primitive form, textures and patterns of the ancient dolls. Most of the patterns are of my own making. I've combined imagery from an assortment of Peruvian, Mexican and American Indian designs to achieve the desired effect. This series is somewhat of a departure for me as I usually work on smooth surfaces; creating textures that would both contrast and cohere was a satisfying challenge and one I hope to continue to employ in the future, but creating imagery that would result in a visual hybrid was, for me, the adventure.
- PORTFOLIOS
ALL ABOUT EVE:
An exploration of angst brought on by a litany of creeds re-emerging from the past. Read more...
DOUBLE EXPOSURE:
This series began as an exploration of the human condition. Read more...
GREAT AMERICAN DREAM HOUSE: The idea for this series came after I had read a book about the aftereffects of WWII. Read more...
PARTLY TRUTH, PARTLY FICTION: As with many things in Life, we encounter contradictions on a daily basis. Read more...
TEAPOTS:
Frequently, the Teapot is considered the Holy Grail of pots. Read more...
"WHAT’S A NICE GIRL LIKE YOU...?": The title for this series was gleaned from an old commercial for oven cleaner. Read more...
NON-SERIES:
Pieces that stand alone with a story unto themselves and do not represent any particular... Read more...
DISTANT RELATIVES:
For several years I have collected Peruvian Grave dolls and have been inspired by... Read more...
- BIOGRAPHY
Jean Cappadonna Nichols was born January 18, 1941, in Port Arthur, Texas, to first generation Italian-American parents. At the age of seven, her family moved to the small, west Texas town of Midland, where she attended elementary, junior high and high school. Upon graduating from high school, she attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. After two years, she transferred to Loretto Heights College in Denver, Colorado, to be geographically closer to her high school sweetheart and future husband, Larry Nichols. Larry graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in June 1962 and they married the following September.
After rearing three daughters, Stephanie, Michelle, and Phyllis, Jean decided to return to Texas Tech to complete her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, which she accomplished in 1988. Armed with a degree in drawing but with a desire to move into the realm of three-dimension, Jean began working in clay but felt she needed additional education to accelerate her progress. In 1994, that opportunity was realized when her husband decided to sell his business, attend law school at the University of Mississippi and ultimately join their middle daughter, Michelle, in her and her husband's small firm in Tupelo, Mississippi. Therefore, in the Spring of 1994, Jean was accepted into the Sculpture program at The University of Mississippi, Oxford. After a few semesters in the Sculpture program, Jean changed her area of concentration to ceramics in order to focus on the technical aspects of the medium. She graduated in 1996 with a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics.
After graduation, Jean and her husband moved to Tupelo, Mississippi, where she worked full-time as a studio artist. In March 1999, Jean and Larry decided to make a permanent move to Fort Myers, Florida to indulge themselves in a few additional passions: year-round gardening, sunshine and water. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions as well as solo and two person shows, and has received many awards and honors, the most recent being the 2003 Individual Artist Award in Sculpture from the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs. She was also the 2002 recipient of the Heritage of Odessa Foundation Distinguished Former Odessan Award, and the 1999 recipient of the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Visual Arts. This latter award has been presented to such notables as William Faulkner, Eudora Welty and John Grisham.
Her work has been published in The Best of New Ceramic Art, The Ceramic Design Book, Clay Times Magazine, Daniel Rhodes Clay and Glazes for the Potter, Edition III and the recently released, Working With Clay, Edition II, by Susan Peterson. She was featured in the March-April 1999 issue of Clay Times and the February 2000 issue of Ceramics Monthly Magazine. Jean works as a full-time studio artist in Fort Myers and her work is represented by Carol Robinson Gallery, New Orleans.
© Jean Cappadonna Nichols. All rights reserved.
Info(at)JeanCappadonnaNichols.com
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