About

“I create hand-sized female torsos in a sketch-like way using only my hands to add, remove, hold, push, pull and turn the clay. This making process reflects the recurrent themes of human connection and fragmented memories and feelings.

In my sculpture, I try to capture small, quiet moments of movement, beauty and emotion. My work is influenced by Bronze and Ice Age sculptures of the female form, the permanence of bronze casting capturing a moment of intimacy. I aim for my torsos to have strength, honesty and fragility.

My work embraces two core themes. On the one hand, vulnerabilities and fragilities, how these can sometimes make us want to hide away and feel small, and the fragmented memories that accompany those experiences. This is expressed in the torn textured surfaces of the clay – the marks of being pushed, pulled and manipulated – and in the torsos themselves, which are fragments of a whole.

On the other hand,  resilience:  the quiet strength that emerges through the permanence  of bronze and the depth of patinas. This contrast between vulnerability and endurance creates a tension within each piece, capturing a moment that resonates with the viewer’s own experiences of being fragile and strong, visible and unseen.

Scale is also essential. The hand-sized form invites the viewer to come closer, creating an intimate encounter with the sculpture. Working small allows me to move quickly and intuitively, without overthinking, letting each torso evolve naturally.

From certain angles,  the intentional abstraction makes the figure less immediately recognisable, encouraging a slower, more contemplative look.

 

Bio

Janice was born and raised in Glasgow and earned a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from The Glasgow School of Art. With a background in Art Therapy, she has worked with adults with mental health issues and Alzheimer’s disease, using art as a tool for emotional expression and healing.

Working with air-dry clay in a quick, intuitive manner gives the sculptor’s hand-sized female torsos an immediacy, movement, and texture; fingerprints, pulls, scratches, and tears are left in the clay. Instinctively making from imagination until the torsos ‘look right’, the torsos draw the viewer in to have a closer look at a very human moment in time.

In 2024, Janice was awarded a DYCP (Developing Your Creative Process) Arts Council award, enabling her to create a series of bronze figures that explore ongoing themes of being held and holding. This award has allowed her to continue developing her practice and explore new directions within her sculptural work.

Janice’s sculptures are traditional in look and technique but are given a contemporary feel through the use of different patina colours and effects: reds, whites, and ‘dripping’ effects.

Based in Manchester, Janice’s work can be seen at Saul Hay Gallery.