- WELCOME
- STATEMENTS
DOUBLE EXPOSURE:
This series began as an exploration of the human condition: The indisputable fact that we are all born and will eventually die. As often occurs, one idea expands into another and before one realizes it, the whole theory becomes a run-on sentence! As I began to think of all the paradoxes that we house internally and externally, such as mankind's capacity for good and evil... images of double-sided figures began to emerge.
Contradiction is prevalent in all of my work and has remained the dominant force throughout each piece I make; it manifests itself both physically and philosophically. I feel that I am a student of human nature and am ceaselessly unsettled by, bewildered, bemused and amused with, but most of all, fascinated by mortal man and all our foibles. The pairing or twining of images tells a double story of both difference and sameness in one unit. I chose to reference the Pop Art style figure because I wanted the ego/alter ego to have the power of voice through the "speech balloon" used in cartooning. Of course, after producing a couple of pieces, I decided that the old adage of a picture is worth a thousand words really had strong validity. Words in print are sometimes a faint shadow of words spoken. In fact, it is a strange game, hoping that even verbal pictures somehow connect with other's interpretations. However, I began to incorporate pictorial language when I felt the purpose was better served. The forms were kept relatively simple for impact; but while the form may catch the eye, the real focus has been carried to the sides of the form to create a support narrative. For me, the use of all sides of the work places emphasis on the dualities of our nature. Using humor to tell my stories seems to be a natural approach for me and I use it as a carrot to entice the audience into the work. Once into it, the work reveals itself on different levels for different people; but whether one enjoys the work because of the symbolism, the idiomatic expression, the metaphor, the humor or just the form and craftsmanship, I am hopeful that each will find their own interpretation and relate on their own terms.
This series was both fun and challenging for me to build as I normally do not work entirely with the slab method, preferring instead, to build primarily with coils. It was only after the first piece in the series was coil built that I changed to the slab method. I began to make a connection between the series and the two dimensionality of photography, where images can maintain their identity but become different through the use of color or black and white film, hence the name of the series, DOUBLE EXPOSURE.
All the pieces are hand-built, hollow, one of a kind, and constructed of white earthenware clay. The images were painted with exterior house paints but are not suitable for outdoor use.
- 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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