MICHAELENE WALSH
Michaelene ("Mikey") Walsh's love of both animals and dolls is reflected in her work. She claims that her interest in both of them is driven by the inner-life they seem to possess. She is fascinated by their ability to both haunt and enchant both children and adults alike with their ambiguous presence.
"The permanent nature of ceramics lends itself to containment of many sorts. My works contain divergent qualities; sweetness and sadness, lightness and weight; tangible reminders of life's plain and simple joys, as well as life's bittersweet attendants – impermanence and loss. An ice cream cone, a gift bow, an old stuffed toy or the temporary moment a bird alights upon a snowball; each image made permanent embodies an ephemeral quality I seek to capture and hold still for.
I’m influenced by poetry, where relationships between words/images shift and coalesce in such a way that something fresh or exciting is felt; what once felt common suddenly feels uncommon, what initially appeared ordinary strangely moves us. If, for a small moment, a configuration of objects I have arranged can be held onto as meaningful in a similar way- my work has achieved its aim.
Since 2019 I have been working exclusively on commissioned works. The general intention with these installations was to meld my aesthetic and formal sensibilities (and my joy in making) with the intentions, visions and needs of the commissioning organizations. Each commission has presented the opportunity for a unique collaboration, with each- a new territory for meaning-making, adapting and challenging my skills to benefit the greater good.“
Walsh has held teaching positions at the Massachusetts College of Art, the University of Georgia, the University of Washington, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the University of California-Davis. Additionally, Walsh has served as an instructor at numerous alternative learning venues such as Haystack School of Crafts, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Arrowmont, and Santa Fe Clay.
Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Art at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Walsh's sculptural ceramic work is exhibited nationally and was featured in the publication, The Figure in Clay, by Lark Books.
