John Jensen

Photography, painting, and ceramics were my earliest interest in art. I began graduate school at the University of Arizona in painting. A visiting artist from Philadelphia, Mark Burns, posted a cryptic sign in the hall of the Fine Arts Building, “Paint on clay.” I enrolled in this class and knew that this would lead to my life’s work. I also believed that doing traditional things well was important: wheel throwing, handbuilding, decorating and glazing. It was also important to push boundaries using alternative coloring techniques, incorporating mixed media such as metal, glass, plastic, bones, electricity, etc. into my work. I began combining traditional pottery with sculptural techniques that incorporated mixed media; I used alternative coloring techniques and often incorporated the human figure into this work.

The early experiments with colored pencils, mixed media and sculptural techniques were often not well received at the university level. I persisted – doing a series of color pencil drawings on bisque fired porcelain and creating another series utilizing mixed media titled “Alternative Modes of Pottery Decoration. This work began to increase in scale and complexity. My interests increasingly shifted toward human anatomy and physiology and this element was incorporated and became a primary theme in much of my work. I was examining and dissecting the viscera, the tissue and the bones and integrating this information and interest into my work. These pieces were evidence of my interest and appreciation of the human body – and of life itself.

I taught figure sculpture using a live model at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA and demonstrated sculpting techniques used for creating clay portrait busts. This “teaching portraits” evolved into the series I titled “The Americans”. A galvanized pipe joins a ceramic head with ceramics feet/shoes making it a portrait of an individual using a head and feet only. I have worked on this series for a number of years, completing about 15 sculptures and it reflects my interest in, my fascination for and my love of people.

I continue to work on original “fine art pottery;” particularly wheel thrown porcelain, raku and stoneware –with emphasis on meticulous carving, piercing and sculpting and on forms that are highly original. I am working on a series of face jugs; some incorporating found objects, others are detailed representations of famous people titled, “Pope John Paul II: On a Fast Track to Sainthood,” or “George W. Bush with Pickle.”

My work reflects my interest in creativity, craftsmanship, mixed media, anatomy and physiology, absurdity and humor and especially my appreciation for the miracle of living – of life itself. It is a reflection of my interests, my spirit, and my time on the planet.