Jean Sheridan

Medium Painting and sculpture

E sheridanjean3@gmail.com
Instagram @jeansheridanart
W  jeansheridan.com

Address 10 Elizabeth Street, Red Hill South 3937
Parking Yes 3 spots
Disabled Access Yes

‘Making art is making sense of the world!’

I have been making art most of my life. Being involved in group and solo exhibitions in both Australia and overseas. I have learnt and moved through many different art making processes and materials. I am lucky that I have a wide range of creative processes to work with and draw on. I am an artist. I paint, draw, print, weld, cast, as well as use clay, fibre and found materials.

My art practise is a visual response to my world. 

Carving timber is my favourite, it is the one process that I have the least control over. Carving timber brings me to a place where my art comes from. 

All of my wooden Sculptures have a story to them; where the wood came from, what tools I used, how I was feeling and what I was thinking or experiencing at the time

My creative process is this. 

The pieces of wood are in a pile; dirty and dusty with their bark still attached. I look at them, stand them up, walk around. I sometimes try to work out what I will make, knowing full well a piece of a tree has many hidden secrets.

I start. 

My body is on high alert as to the possible danger when working with the tools. There is soft noise coming through the ear muffs, the face shield is on, the sweet scent of motor oil and wood dust hits me and I am in a world of wood chips. 

A knot in the wood, a broken bit, some hole, a bit of rot, an old branch, a split, an insect's house. Carve around these, take out the damaged wood, take the bark off, make the hole bigger, cut the branch off. 

Moving, looking. It's ‘tree talking’.

The form emerges, I can see now what the wood is saying to me, and it's here, in this moment that the story comes to life as I converse with the wood and my art is created.