Nicole Uzzell
Nature's Offering

Media: Paper sculture -- mobile
Size: 4’ x 2’ x 2’
$1250

Artist Statement:
Experimentation and a mix of humble materials, primarily paper, guide my sculptural forms. Environmental concerns and women’s issues are central to my practice. However, the olive branch marks a pivot into the arena of social justice.

By imploring a hunter/gatherer approach searching for both natural and man-made castaways, it provides a strong connection to place and a new purpose for reusable materials. Paper in general is usually experienced through touch and the mobile encourages that tactile interaction. As I work in various pulps and found materials, my process is part alchemist/part witches brew, laborious and repetitious.

Oscillating between strength and fragility, nature and industry, decay and beauty — my artwork contains skilled-craftsmanship and the reckless abandonment of allowing materials to shape the outcome.

Biography

Nicole Uzzell was born in New Jersey and moved to NC to attend UNCGreensboro. After graduation, she moved to Winston-Salem to begin working at SciWorks, the Science Museum and the Sawtooth School for Visual Art. In 1998, Uzzell pursued an arts education degree at Winston-Salem State University. In 2003, Uzzell started her education and exhibits position at Piedmont Craftsmen, while continuing to teach ceramics at the Sawtooth School. She received her MFA from the low-residency program at Lesley University College of Art and Design in Cambridge, MA. Uzzell graduated in 2015 with a concentration in sculpture/installation and continues to hold her same positions at Piedmont Craftsmen and the Sawtooth school. Shortly after, Uzzell was hired by Salem College in Winston Salem, NC to teach in the fine art department. In 2019, Uzzell began teaching art at Forsyth Comm. College as well. Along with being an adjunct professor, Uzzell lives and maintains an active studio at the base of hanging rock state park in the foothills of Stokes Co., NC.

http://www.nicoleuzzell.com/