Joelle Montez
I like to make objects that represent a different way of seeing and interacting with the world. Changing focus and perspective connects me to a deep sense of wonder that reminds me of being a child. This allows me to stay curious, and pushes me to continue learning about the world around me. In doing so I think we can change the narrative of what is real and valuable.
Joelle Montez is a contemporary ceramic artist living and working in the pacific northwest. Joelle teaches ceramic classes and the Arbutus Folk School and the Olympia Center.
Portal Bug Series
During the warm season, as I sat in my yard at an old wooden table, I began noticing insects I’d never seen before; long necked beetles, tiny green bees, furry gnats. I became entranced with each new bug that wandered by, delighting like a child who’s discovered something new. Their textures and minute features, built for the same world as mine, were arranged in such different forms that they could have been from an alien land.
I wondered what these creatures sense, what is only privy to antennae crowned, faceted-eye, and winged folk, visions and smells beyond my human capacity to understand?
This series is representative of native insects that I have had the pleasure of sharing space and time with. They invoked in me a sense of wonder, allowing me to step through a portal and un-center myself, slipping into their realm. I have given them names reminiscent of their Latin classifications with some alterations making space for reimagining what we know of them. Sculpting these insects has been my way of delighting in their existence and letting them be seen, if only through human eyes.
Joelle Montez is a contemporary ceramic artist living and working in the pacific northwest. Joelle teaches ceramic classes and the Arbutus Folk School and the Olympia Center.
Portal Bug Series
During the warm season, as I sat in my yard at an old wooden table, I began noticing insects I’d never seen before; long necked beetles, tiny green bees, furry gnats. I became entranced with each new bug that wandered by, delighting like a child who’s discovered something new. Their textures and minute features, built for the same world as mine, were arranged in such different forms that they could have been from an alien land.
I wondered what these creatures sense, what is only privy to antennae crowned, faceted-eye, and winged folk, visions and smells beyond my human capacity to understand?
This series is representative of native insects that I have had the pleasure of sharing space and time with. They invoked in me a sense of wonder, allowing me to step through a portal and un-center myself, slipping into their realm. I have given them names reminiscent of their Latin classifications with some alterations making space for reimagining what we know of them. Sculpting these insects has been my way of delighting in their existence and letting them be seen, if only through human eyes.
