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For Ursula Jones, life started over again when she moved to The Sea Ranch six years ago. This time, she is reincarnated as painter and sculptor. "It has been just over five years since I began creating art and started working with clay and concrete, but sculpture was love-at-first-try during a short course with local artist Judith Greenleaf." Several clay sculpture workshops at the Mendocino Art Center followed.
Pueblo-style Pottery, unglazed
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From figurative work it was only a small step to hand-building large vessels. Ursula was introduced to Native American pottery by Kaye Like from Brandybuck Ranch near Point Arena, with whom she has studied for several years. She has also taken workshops with traditional Pueblo potters from Taos, Acoma, La Madera, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. One of her most admired teachers is contemporary Native American sculptor Roxanne Swentzell from Santa Clara Pueblo.
Fancy Dancer, pastel on paper, 20x26
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Sebastopol artist Elizabeth Ryder-Sutton taught Ursula how to draw with soft pastels. The spontaneity and directness of pastels allows her to express her artistic visions either in a still life or in a landscape painting. Ursula has won prizes both for her ceramics and her pastels at the annual Art-in-the-Redwoods Festival in Gualala.
To work at a larger scale, Ursula sculpts animals such as bears, seals and pelicans from concrete. Lately, she has constructed several ceramic copies of private homes as birdhouses and welcomes commissions. Examples of her work are at The Dolphin Gallery in Gualala or can be seen at her studio by appointment.
Log house as Birdhouse, glazed clay
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