About the artist:

Artist Statement: At Sculpture Space I proposed to continue developing a series of stand-alone sculptures that are part of an ongoing series entitled HOUSE NOT A HOME. I also wanted to experiment with some new techniques for making sculpture, and have learned a bit more about image-transfers, and small-scale casting of objects. As collections of objects have been a large part of my work for many years, these new material techniques will prove invaluable in terms of extending the options available to me when creating new work. Having been without a private sculpture space for almost 15 years, one of my priorities at Sculpture Space was a create an idealized studio, one in which I could unpack many boxes of my objects from years of collecting, such that a “palette” of materials would be readily available to me during my working process. I was able to accomplish this seemingly simple objective owing to the generous space available to me, and the work produced during my residency has generated new enthusiasm for working on small-scale sculptures. Perhaps the most valuable impact of this residency has been to liberate my thinking and clarify future directions. The “gift of time” at Sculpture Space allowed me to suspend the realities of my normal life (to an extent), to remember what it is like to have a private space of contemplation and work, and to regain a sense of play, an aspect of creativity that we often lose when we are attempting to make a professional career of a creative passion. I was unable to create finalized projects during my residency, though initiated a lot of new work. I am so grateful to Sculpture Space and the generous staff who have allowed me to regain some momentum toward realizing a future vision in my creative practice. About the Artist: John W. Ford is a Sculptor, Installation artist, Painter, Printmaker, Lecturer, Curatorial liaison, and International Organizer. Ford's works of art (prints, paintings, sculpture, and site-specific installations) have been featured in 54 solo and 80 group exhibitions in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Italy, Russia, and Poland. In addition to his current position at McMaster University, Ford has taught at the University of North Carolina Charlotte; the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. Ford has been guest artist/lecturer at 53 colleges, universities, or non-profit galleries, including Old Dominion University, McMaster University, Texas Tech University, University of Alberta, Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, University of Ulster (Belfast, N. Ireland), ZPAP – Independent Artists' Union (Kraków, Poland), and the John Michael Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, WI. He has served as a conference panelist at the CAA (2011, 2005, 1995), Mid-America CAA (1995), the Southern Graphics Council (1993), and "Border Subjects" conference at Illinois State University (1997). From SculptureSpace.org