Sue DeWulf
“My ceramics illustrate my childhood fascination with toys and play. Creating scenarios for my dolls filled my summer days. I remember discovering my grandmother’s toy basket full of zoo animals and carefully lining them up along her porch while rearranging and juxtaposing them. So, in a sense, while I sculpt, I am a child lost in a fantasy world of play.“ states Sue De Wulf, this week’s CCC artist.
Each piece is a whimsical adventure, inspired by the way the toys can be balanced, and manipulated into an overall theme. De Wulf uses a variety of unique cast toys and molds using low fire earthenware slip and clay. She will spend a whole day casting 30-40 pieces, returning the next day to uncover the toy basket of clay pieces like a return to her grandmother’s porch and a basketful of toys, to begin the play of assemblage. Many of her these are from childhood memories or the feeling of play and De Wulf enjoys watching and listening to viewers recall childhood memories from her imagery.
De Wulf has been a middle school art teacher for over twenty years and returned to her ceramics three years ago. Balancing working full time and creating art is challenging. Often she needs to block off a weekend to just be in the studio as distractions of daily life can fill up a day.
De Wulf has been participating in a few shows and will be showing in Made in California at the La Brea Gallery when it opens again. In the meantime, she misses her students. You can see more of her work at: www.dewulfceramics.com and on Instagram@dewulfceramics.
