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Lee Puffer

sculpture, installation, mixed media, ceramics

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Minimizer, by Lee Puffer

March 16, 2015March 17, 2015 | Lee

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As ceramicists we are tasked with harmonizing multiple elements, both physical and metaphysical. Of the physical- form, surface, and function are of primary concern. All of the principles and elements of three-dimensional design apply to creation and analysis of the work. Like any sculptural form, the elements and principles are the language we use to discuss the artwork, how it succeeds formally, and why. It is important to have use of this vocabulary as it helps us to understand our own responses to an artwork, and the responses of others, more deeply.

Clay is an ancient medium. Like math, ceramics is a shared language that that has no borders, no ethnicity. We are aware that humans have been interacting with clay and ceramic objects for many millennia. There is no denying this lineage. We accept that every form and function possible has probably been made before, somewhere, by someone. The goal, then, is to acknowledge this fact and innovate within that framework. Taking the vessel form as a point-of-departure for new work in clay places our contemporary practice within a continuum of shared human history.

We are no good. Our work sucks. We should give up. Things are not going as we’d hoped. Much has been said about perseverance and persistence. What about the value of frustration and confusion? We think these feelings should be avoided. If we feel frustration and confusion during the artistic process, we think we have done something wrong. Instead, I think it is time to reframe frustration as a good and necessary step in the development of new work, a sign of growth. The presence of frustration and confusion are an indication that we are leveling up. These feelings always precede a major breakthrough for me. Is this also true for you?

Upcoming Exhibits

Teaching

2018-2019

Southwestern College Ceramics 1. Monday/Wednesday 8:15am-11:30am http://www.swccd.edu

Grossmont College Ceramics 1. Tuesday/Thursday 9:30am -12:30 Ceramics 1. Tuesday/Thursday 1pm-4pm http://www.grossmont.edu

San Diego City College Figure Sculpture I, II, III Friday 9am-4pm

About Lee Puffer

Born in Long Beach, CA, Lee Puffer grew up in Coastal Massachusetts and Maine, Mexico, Venezuela, and the shores of Lake Erie in Western New York. Puffer began her career after graduating with Honors from the Massachusetts College of Art with a BFA from the Studio for Interrelated Media in 1992, working with Tony Oursler among others.
In 2004 Puffer enrolled in the Graduate program at San Diego State University, earning an MFA in 2007 with an emphasis of Ceramics. Her nomadic background manifests itself in sculpture made with a distinct sense of place. Her background as a multimedia artist lends her sculpture and sculptural installations immediacy and a contemporary sensibility.
Puffer creates life-sized figurative and kinetic sculpture and installation which offer cultural critique through personal and controversial imagery often appropriating and re-contextualizing images and ideas from popular culture.
She has exhibited at The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, The American Museum of Ceramic Art, and The Women’s Museum of California among others. She is currently on faculty at Palomar College in San Marcos, California.

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