MaryAnn Ferguson, Artist

I draw my influences and passion for color from growing up in Hawaii where vivid colors were a natural part of my life. Orange reminds me of picking guavas with my best friend early in the morning, blue recalls the bliss of bodysurfing at Makapuu Beach, yellow is the hot Hawaiian sun warming me, and so on. Sometimes I have a clear idea of what I am going to create, other times my art seems to crea

te itself. I create my ceramic sculptures out of raw clay and tear, imprint, pierce or smooth the clay then adhere the pieces to each other with clay slip to achieve texture, depth, and focus. I use a variety of finishes: underglazes, glazes, paints, rubber, and metal finishes. I attended sculpture and ceramic classes at the University of Hawaii and earned a MFA degree from Northwestern University. I work full-time in my Las Vegas studio as a ceramic artist. I have twice been a featured artist at Jana’s RedRoom Art Gallery in Las Vegas where the consistent sales of my artwork resulted in Elite Artist 2016 status. Recent exhibitions of my sculptures include 2015 Celebration of Life Juried Show; 2015 5th Avenue Gallery, City of Las Vegas; 2015 Jana’s RedRoom Art Gallery Featured Artist, Elite Artist, Top Selling Artist; 2015 Art2Festival; 2015 Decadence in the Desert Fair; 2014 Celebration of Life Juried Show; 2014 Nevada Art Guild Show.