Tennyson Kovach Corley

My childhood has led me to my current body of work. I am the product of an illustrator who chose books based on the beauty of the illustrations. I have continued this collection. Referencing characters and ideas for my own work. I grew up surrounded by animals on our farm. Studying them, the ways animals interact and coexsist among each other, how species intermingled, the hierarchies that arose. I gave them personalities in my mind. Constructing back stories and human characteristics for each one. Fast forward to 2018, when I took my first pottery class which landed me with a membership at a pottery studio. I began to find what my artistic practice was craving. It took me back to my childhood, constructing animals out of playdoh and drying them on my shelf. In a full circle moment, I combined my love for childrens book illustrations, building back stories for the creatures around me, and moving from playdoh to clay to create, what I call, my ceramic illustrations. Each sculpture is a mix of Beatrice Potter and an Orwellian Animal Farm character. Conceptualized in my mind, were I work out their features, back stories, faults, and qualities. Then, through my hands, they are birthed into life through earthen clay, underglazes, and the fire of the kiln.