Liz Sibley Fletcher
288 Marcel Road
Mason, NH 03048
(603) 878-2539
Liz@Liz-Fletcher-Sculpture.com
Making art and protecting the environment have been the two strong threads of my working life. Since graduating from Massachusetts College of Art in 1970, I've been working in clay as a sculptor, potter, and teacher. For seven years (1974-81), I worked full-time as a studio potter in the New Hampshire woods, selling my work around the northeast. Then concern about human impacts on the land led me back to school for a Masters degree in Resource Management at Antioch. For the next 15 years I worked part-time with the Nashua River Watershed Association, doing open space planning and coordinating their wonderful Greenway program to protect the rivers of the region. In recent years my environmental work has been focused locally as a member of the Mason, NH Conservation Commission. We've enjoyed some success at protecting wild lands.
Always I have continued my clay work on a limited production basis, concentrating on my first love, clay sculpture, combined with teaching at regional art centers in NH. As I do in my own work, in my teaching I encourage students to surprise themselves by tapping into their own imaginations.
I'm a juried exhibiting member of the NH Art Association and the League of NH Craftsmen. My work has been exhibited in New England and as far as Georgia, Texas, and the state of Washington. I've won prizes in several regional exhibitions: Fitchburg Art Museum, League of NH Craftsmen Annual Juried Exhibition, and Sharon Arts Center Juried Exhibition. Through the NH Arts Council's Percent for Art Program, I created a clay mural for the Health and Human Services Building in the state capital.
The wonders of the natural world inspire me, as do the absurdities of the human condition, which is often not beautiful but sometimes humorous! People often sense a narrative quality in my work -- the images speak, telling stories.
Life forms fascinate me. I love to shape clay into creatures and strange beings whose combinations of human, beast, and bone embody the interpenetration of the natural and human worlds, of geologic time and daily life. We're all in it together -- voyaging in this great mysterious universe.
I love to work with my hands and have never quite grown out of playing, so clay is a perfect material. It's wonderfully responsive to touch, yet when fired firm as a stone. Fragile yet enduring, clay embodies the paradoxes of life that inspire me.
Since I often make outdoor sculpture, I chiefly use stoneware clay for its strength and imperviousness. Color is vital - I use a variety of glazes, slips, paints, and oxides to get the tones I need. For sculptural work, I form the clay with hand-building methods - slabs, modeling, pinch-building. For functional work I use the potters wheel and often combine wheelwork and hand-building in the same piece. I fire my work in a large gas kiln, to stoneware temperatures (more than 2200 degrees F) for durability and resistance to weathering. I do not use lead or other toxic materials in my clay or glazes. My studio is in my home.
Fired clay is fully washable and weather-proof, except in winter when it is best to cover complex forms that remain outside so snow and rain does not freeze in any crevices of the forms.
I would be happy to work on special orders, especially ones that involve natural forms. Due to the large size of my kiln, it can take about 2 months between receiving an order and completing it.
I can be contacted by mail at 288 Marcel Road, Mason, NH 03048, or by phone at 603-878-2539, or FAX at 603-878-0547.
1970 Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, Mass. B.F.A. in Ceramics
1983 Antioch New England, Keene, NH. M.S. in Resource Management
Exhibiting Member, New Hampshire Art Association
State Juried Member, League of New Hampshire Craftsmen
New Hampshire Potters Guild: President, 1998 - 2000
2012,11 ÒArt in the Heart of the CityÓ, Ithaca, NY
2008 "Bode" life-size bronze statue of the Town of Mason's first colonial resident, a young enslaved African, for Mason Historical Society, Mason, NH.
1998 "Pick Your Own" mural for New Hampshire Council on the Arts Percent for Art Program, Health and Human Services Brown Building, Concord, NH.
2013 Second Prize, For One Night Only: NHAA Best of the Best, NH Institute of Art French Gallery, Manchester, NH.
2011 First Prize, Lassonde Memorial Juried Exhibition, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, NH Art Association, Portsmouth, NH.
2008 Honorable Mention, Lassonde Memorial Juried Exhibition, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, NH Art Association, Portsmouth, NH.
1998 The Artist's Valentine Grant, Kalliroscope Gallery, Groton, MA.
1996 Best in Show, 19th Annual Juried Exhibition of the Sharon Arts Center, Killian Gallery, Sharon, NH
1995 Public Choice Award and Hitchiner Clay Award, 20th Annual Juried Exhibition, League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, Thorne Sagendorph Gallery, Keene, NH.
1995 Sheffield Pottery Award, BIG, NH Potters Guild Biennial Exhibition, Art Center, Saint Paul's School, Concord, NH.
1993 First Prize, 58th Regional Juried Exhibition, Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg.
1992 Juror's Choice, 17th Annual Juried Exhibition, League of NH Craftsmen, Saint Anselm's College, Goffstown, NH.
1990 Hollis Arts Society Award for Excellence, Knossos Exhibition, Opus 71 Gallery, Hollis, NH.
1990 E.W. Poor Award, Lassonde Memorial Juried Exhibition, NH Art Association, Manchester, NH.
2014 Solo Show â"Speaking Volumes", NH Art Association Fraser Gallery, Portsmouth, NH
2014 The Gallery at 100 Market, Winter/Spring Exhibition, Portsmouth,NH
2014,11,08,06,1999,98 Lassonde Memorial Juried Exhibition, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, NH Art Association, Portsmouth, NH.
2013 Art in Nature, Fruitlands Museums, Harvard, MA
2013 Hard Ware, National Ceramics Exhibition, Hill Country Arts Foundation, Ingram, TX
2012 It's All About Clay, Millbrook Gallery and Sculpture Garden, Concord, NH
2012 A Shared Source: 4 Sibleys, 2 Generations, Adolf Matz Gallery, Sawyer Free Library, Gloucester, MA
2012 Art Beyond Vision, NH Children's Museum, Dover, NH
2011 Five Potters and Sculptors, Kimball Jenkins Gallery, Concord, NH.
2011 Juried Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Millbrook Gallery and Sculpture Garden, Concord, NH.
2010 Invitational Sculpture Walk at Old Frog Pond Farm, Harvard, MA.
2010 Four-Legged, Millbrook Sculpture Garden, Concord, NH.
2010 Creatures Real and Imagined, Sharon Arts Center, Peterborough, NH.
2009 Prescott Park Outdoor Sculpture Show, NH Art Association, Portsmouth, NH.
2009 Dunfey Memorial Juried Exhibition, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH.
2008,06, 1999,98 Lassonde Memorial Juried Exhibition, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, NH Art Association, Portsmouth, NH.
2007 Solo Show, "Shelter" Brodigan Gallery, The Groton School, Groton, MA
2007 "Pilot House" Windhover Center for the Arts, Rockport, MA
2007, 2004, 2003 NH Art Association Annual Juried Exhibition, Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, NH.
2006 "Spirit of the Forest" Invitational Exhibition, The McIninch Gallery, Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH.
2006, 2003-01 Juried Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Millbrook Gallery, Concord, NH
2005 Solo Show, “Voyaging” Conant Gallery, Lawrence Academy, Groton, MA
2005 Clay on the Wall, Clay National 2005, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
2005 Invitational Sculpture Exhibition, St. Paul's School, Concord, NH
2005, 1999 Biennial Regional Juror's Choice Competition, Thorne-Sagendorph Gallery, Keene, NH
2005 The Art of Peace, NH Art Association Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH
2003 NH Arts Biennial, New Hampshire Institute of Art, Manchester, NH.
2000 Crazy for Clay, Millbrook Gallery, Concord, NH. Three person show with clay sculptors Jane Kaufmann and Al Jaeger.
2001-1998 Art in the Yard Outdoor Sculpture Show, Hole in the Wall Gallery, Raymond, ME.
1999 Solo Show, “Laughing in the Dark”, Taylor Gallery, Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, NH
1999 Clay on the Wall: Fourth National Ceramic Exhibition, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
1997 Clay on the Wall: Third National Ceramic Exhibition, Forum on the Visual Arts Gallery, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas.
1997 A Second Decade of Winners, Killian Gallery, Sharon Arts Center, Sharon, NH.
1997 Family Pictures, Chapel Art Center, Saint Anselm's College, Goffstown, NH.
1995 Masterworks, Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, NH
1993 Clay on the Wall, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA.
1993 That's About the Size of It, Killian Gallery, Sharon Arts Center, Sharon, NH. Exhibition focused on large scale artwork.
1991 Dependent on the Earth, The League Gallery, Concord, NH. Sponsored by NH Visual Arts Coalition as part of The Artist and The Environment Project.
1991 Figurative Clay, Georgia State University Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA.
1990 Nudes and Animals, Opus 71 Gallery, Hollis, NH.
1989 Peace, Kerygma Gallery, Ridgewood, NJ
1986 The Human Touch, Worcester Craft Center Gallery, Worcester, MA.
1981 Sculpture New Hampshire, state-wide exhibition: Saint-Gaudens Memorial, Cornish, NH; Thorne-Sagendorph Gallery, Keene State College, Keene, NH.
1981 Jubilee 50, League of NH Craftsmen Golden Anniversary Exhibition, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
1977 New Hampshire's Creative Women, Plymouth State College, Plymouth, NH.
1974,1975 Northeast Regional Craft Fair, American Crafts Council, Rhinebeck, NY.
2000, 1999 Artist Mentor, NH Allstate Arts Festival, Currier Gallery, Manchester, NH.
1997-present Clay sculpture teacher, Sharon Arts Center, Sharon, NH.
1983-present Clay Sculpture Workshops, League of NH Craftsmen's Fair, Sunapee, NH
2005 North Country Craft Conference: Paper Sculpture with Mary Merkel-Hess
2005 Sharon Arts Center: Monotype with Celeste Wyrosdic
2004 Haystack Mountain School of Crafts: Sculptural Paper with Lynn Sures
2003 North Country Craft Conference: Mining Inspiration Workshop with Arnie Zimmerman
2000 Haystack Mountain School of Crafts: Clay Sculpture with Bill Daly
1999 North Country Craft Conference: Dinnerware as Sculpture Workshop with Eddie Dominguez.
1998 Gerry Williams Workshop, NH Institute of Art.
1995 North Country Craft Conference: Clay and Myth Workshop with George Kokis
1992 Plymouth State College, Plymouth, NH. Under leadership of sculptor Elspeth Woody, designed and constructed part of multi-form clay sculpture for outdoor amphitheatre of Silver Cultural Center.
2005 The Monadnock Moose, August 2005, “Hands On” article by Lynn Tryba
1998 Ceramics Monthly, October 1998; “Laughing in the Dark” article on my clay sculpture work by Peg Lopata.
1998-present Liz Fletcher Clay Sculpture, self-employed studio artist.
1996-98 Open Space Planner, Dunstable Conservation Commission, Dunstable, MA.
1993-96 Watershed Planner, Nashua River Watershed Association, Groton, MA.
1981-92 Greenway Coordinator, Nashua River Watershed Association, Fitchburg, MA.
1974-80 Designer and Manager of Fletcher Pottery Works, a small-scale production studio
1987-present Mason Conservation Commission Member