Soleyne Profile: BonnieBelt

BonnieBelt's bio:

A fascination with nature and trees has pervaded most of my 30-year career in art. I attended ceramics courses at college; later studied Chinese brush painting, from which I learned the subtleties of brushwork and the Chinese philosophy that influences my work. The natural world and respect for nature is the primary focus of my life and art. I could not exist without the solitude of the forest or the interaction with the wildlife at my home in rural Northern California.

I try to capture the drama and movement of the windswept trees of my coastal surroundings. I especially love the cypress trees, the way they obstinately hang onto the edges of cliffs, bent by the wind, yet still survive. They express the enduring – yet fragile - existence of nature.

My most recent work is expanding on this nature theme with bird and wave motifs. I have chosen the heron for its elegant look and serene imagery. I hope to show in my sculptures, the graceful lines of the body and the flowing expressive wings of these birds. The “wave” pieces are inspired by the Japanese master of woodcut prints, Hokusai, especially his Mt. Fuji wave print. The waves show not only the power of nature but also its graceful beauty.

I sculpt each piece individually from white stoneware clay, often attaching my trees and birds to a vessel made on the potter’s wheel. I like combining the symmetry of a vessel with the flowing movement of my sculptures. I hope to make the viewer feel the tranquility and harmony of the subject, but also experience the tenacity of the natural world. I use detail to define my subjects who are realistic but fanciful. Many of my pieces have a final smoke firing. It is a relatively quick end to the laborious sculpting, throwing and glazing process. After the piece is masked with glaze, I layer sawdust, newspaper and whatever organic materials from my yard - usually dried redwood needles, madrone or oak leaves – into a metal trashcan. I gently pack each piece into the can and smoke the barrels for 45 minutes to an hour, allow the sculptures to cool, then remove them and scrub them clean. This gives each piece an organic, ancient finish that compliments the sculpture.

I currently exhibit my work at galleries and museum stores throughout the United States, and at fine art shows like the Celebration of Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ and the Sausalito Art Festival. I have been featured on a television segment for HGTV, on the Carol Duvall show. I have just had a photo of my work published in 500 Pitchers, Lark Books, and have been published in numerous magazines, such as Clay Times – feature article, The Los Angeles Times - Calendar, The Crafts Report, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Artists Magazine. Currently I am an exhibiting member of the Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California.

In an age of increased isolation, globalization and explosion of digital technologies, hand made ceramic sculptures transcend the perfection of machine made ubiquitous products.