Sculpture by Ann Weber
September 15 - November 13, 2005

pictured:
Popcorn, 2005
cardboard, staples, shellac

I began my artistic career as a ceramicist, but later switched to corrugated cardboard while seeking relief from the cumbersome process of working with large-scale clay forms.  Cardboard remains my medium of choice as it allows me to discover the infinite creative possibilities of this everyday material while elevating its commonplace character in the process.  Armed with only a staple gun, a box of staples and shellac, I interlace flat strips of cardboard retrieved from dumpsters into hollow objects and then coat the surfaces.

Based primarily on the circle and the cylinder, the pared down sculptures are produced using the most elemental shapes. They are symbols of life, male and female, and the origin of all forms in nature. I want to push the medium to see how far it can go, how high it can reach, before collapsing. By stretching the limits of the material’s fortitude, I am interested in examining the boundaries of life’s situations and the balancing acts that define our lives.  

I began my life as an artist some 30 years ago while taking a class in ceramics.  In working with clay, I explored the possibilities of transforming elemental materials into hollow shapes and worked as a potter in upstate New York and New York City, making dinnerware and other functional objects.  Seeking a more creative direction for my work, I moved to the Bay Area where I received a Masters degree at the California College of Arts and Crafts studying under the tutelage of Oakland ceramic sculptor Viola Frey.