Sculptures Exhibit by Helen Helwig Opens in Display Gallery

Artist Statement

Active in art pottery since 1975, Helen Helwig studied at Ohio State University and was an assistant at the Arrowmont School for Arts and Crafts. She has been an artist-in-residence numerous times, an art teacher and conducts workshops in clay techniques, handmade tile, and mosaics. Helwig has participated in juried art fairs for more than 20 years and enjoys the opportunity to share her art work with the public.

More recently, Helen Helwig has created mixed media mosaics and sculptures that combine metal and sculpted clay. She is currently working on several large-scale commissions and has completed public art installations for hospitals, libraries, schools, highway underpasses, bus shelters and corporate offices.

Helen Helwig¹s functional art is created using wheel thrown, hand built and extrusion techniques. These pieces often include incised and relief sculptures of birds, animals, and plants. The sculpted, textured and incised areas are stained and then glazed in a manner that enhances the details and surface of the images. Helwig formulates many of her own glazes to achieve unusual effects and colors.

The artist¹s decorative clay sculptures and mixed media mosaics typically depict flora and fauna themes. The mosaics include handmade clay pieces, broken tiles, rocks and glass beads. The sculptures and mosaics are adhered to backer board, walls, table tops, concrete bird baths and steel armatures.

Helen Helwig is inspired by flora and fauna, the geology and the geographic features of the region and the seasons. The stylized and symbolic images she uses as well as the themes are often derived from cultural, historical and environmental references