Terri Maloney Houston

Terri Maloney Houston

Terri Maloney-Houston

Ceramics / Installation / Sculpture
My work is a lens that allows me to look critically at ideas, feelings and relationships. My current work is focused on ideas and feelings around loss, grief, and survival. I work in clay because the medium is challenging and tactile, imposes its own rhythm and flow, and because it connects me to a historical procession of art makers and objects. I am inspired by every child who ever made a mud pie, and by artists such as Andy Goldsworthy and Vincent VanGogh.

I am currently preparing work for my first solo show, Have You Got a Pulse?, at Wehrle Gallery at the Ohio Dominican University, February 15, 2019 - January 25, 2020. The show will include several new series, one of which were developed in a 2018 at the Open Wabi Artist Residency program in Fredericton, Ohio. There will be an installation of altered ceramic orb shapes titled Sheela-Na-Gigs: Ancient Power Rising. There will also be an installation titled Pandora's Boxes. Be Brave, a wall mounted installation developed at the Cart Pushers residency in 2017, consists of dozens of small, un-glazed porcelain female torsos, shattered and reassembled, inspired by Japanese Kintsugi ware. Other pieces in the group are glazed and embossed with text. It explores my interest in life drawing, sculpture, ceramics and a personal expression of loss, grief, and a cathartic re-awakening.

Previous installations were developed from experiments with creating texture in clay. For a piece exhibited at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids in 2014, I created 10,000 un-glazed porcelain impressions of natural leaves of the Ash tree, currently threatened with extinction by the emerald ash borer. Leaf Ring serves as both a statement on climate change and a form of grief work, helping me to process personal losses.

Making works that are composed of many small parts resonates with me as it relates to everyday tasks such as chopping carrots, folding laundry, or washing dishes. It puts the art making on the same scale as these everyday tasks and at the same time elevates the everyday tasks to the same level as making art. Plus, given the demands of work and family life, my studio practice is best suited for works that can be created in intense bursts of studio time. I can make many small items in a day. I am also enjoying the challenge and the flexibility of being able to install these multi-piece works in different configurations – on walls, floors or even suspended.

In addition to my studio work, I am passionate about bringing the healing power of art making to others. I have enjoyed my times as artist in residence to several schools, and in 2018, I worked with participants in the Alvis House program for women prisoners returning to the community. Together we created a wall installation called Home, which expressed their hopes and dreams for their futures. I am also very lucky to mentor developing artists of all ages in my day job as a recreation leader for the city of Columbus.
Upcoming Events

Currently creating work for a solo show at Wherle Gallery in Fall of 2019.

Images
Terri Maloney Houston: Sheila-na-Gig.jpg
Terri Maloney Houston: withstand.jpg
Terri Maloney Houston: Leaf Rings (ArtPrize, Grand Rapids)
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Terri Maloney Houston: Our Walk, Their Walk (detail)
Terri Maloney Houston: Our walk, Their Walk (detail 2)
Terri Maloney Houston: 7_Leaf_Ring.jpg
Terri Maloney Houston: Mourning and Resurrection
Terri Maloney Houston: Mourning the Ash Tree
Terri Maloney Houston: Mourning
Terri Maloney Houston: Mourning the Ash Tree
Terri Maloney Houston: 9_Gahonga.jpg
Terri Maloney Houston: IMG_5356.jpg
Terri Maloney Houston: Becky.jpg
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Terri Maloney Houston: Crowing
Terri Maloney Houston: Squabbling
Terri Maloney Houston: Untitled
Terri Maloney Houston: Blackbird
Terri Maloney Houston: Black Pair

  • I allow businesses to purchase or display my work.
  • I am open to selling my work under payment plans.
  • I am available for demonstrations.
  • I offer classes.
Contact Artist