Artist Statement
This is a female figure. There is a waist. There are ample hips. More importantly there is attitude. She is in a stance of defiance. One of power. It says here I am. I am a woman. This is my body. And I come from the earth, from clay, I’ve been hewn from rock. She’s standing up tall, like a mountain. She’s strong. She’s bold. She’s pointing the way.
Creative Process
The sculpture was hand built from 800 lb. of clay. The final size is about 6 feet high, 3 feet wide at the base. The body was sculpted in five separate parts which were then hollowed out, fired in a kiln and assembled. Plaster was used to bind and refine the body shape; other parts were chipped away by hand chisel. The creation of the sculpture was largely an intuitive process where I tried to be open to the creative possibilities in every decision.
A sculpture of this size requires a team effort. Technical support and expertise was provided by my sculpture partner, Geemon Xin Meng, at the Vancouver Sculpture Studio. The sculpture was expertly fired by renowned Canadian ceramic artist Keith Rice-Jones.
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Ellen Scobie is figurative sculptor and mixed media artist based in Vancouver, Canada.