Jessica Sallay-Carrington, a ceramic artist currently residing in Montreal, will be coming to Parrsboro for a 4-week Nonesuch Artist’s Residency in May- June 2015.  While here, Sallay-Carrington will give an artist’s  talk, have an exhibit, and teach a workshop. She has been working in ceramics since she was 8 years old. She studied at Emily Carr University and then, to broaden her scope, she moved to Montreal where she completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Concordia University. Exhibited in more than a dozen group shows, she had her first Solo Exhibition, Faunacloset, in 2014 at Montreal’s Mouseprint Gallery.

Sallay-Carrington grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia “surrounded by beaches, mountains and a deep love of nature” in a home that served as a “rescue house” for a variety of animals.

Much of Sallay-Carrington’s work focuses on “the intersectionality of animals and society”.  Inspired by her “personal connection with animals and these non-human creatures that share our planet”, she uses sculpture as “a lens to explore the many complicated aspects of our relationship to these non-human peoples and to ourselves”.  This anthropomorphic work explores various societal issues and, as a way of confronting the exploitation of animals, frequently replicates animal-derived materials and products, such as bone, horn and ivory, in ceramic form.

Jessica enjoys the opportunity artist residencies provide to explore other landscapes “both creatively and geographically”. She has previously attended residencies at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Washington D.C. and at the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts in Greece.

While in Parrsboro, Jessica will largely focus on creating new work inspired by the local environment. Soon after she arrives however, Jessica has agreed to give a talk and slideshow about her work; this event will be free and open to the public. Also, toward the end of her stay with us, there will be an exhibit of the work Jessica has created during the residency (dates and times TBA).

Finally, she has also agreed to teach a workshop : Hollow Solids, in which we will learn how to create ceramic sculptures using a hollow solid technique. For details and to register, visit the workshop page here. Space is very limited so register now!