Cary Weigand

Cary Weigand was born and raised in Hawaii, where she earned her BFA and MFA (2003) from the University of Hawaii. In 2006 she received a grant from the George Sugarman Foundation for sculpture, and in 2011 she was awarded Ceramics Monthly’s Prize for Emerging Artists. She lives and works in Oregon.

Influenced by Asian philosophy and shamanism, Weigand’s ceramics works convey narrative and spirituality through the juxtaposition of human and animal figures. As one writer put it,

“Cary Weigand creates delicate yet striking ceramic figures, mostly of women wearing ornate head-dresses, ethereal, elaborate dresses or simply stripped bare. Although a bit eerie, Weigand’s women are fighters: proud, strong and free. Her pieces are filled with symbolic elements and explore death, rebirth, transition and/or innocence.” [1]

Of her working process, the artist writes:

“As I begin to build, volume and balance come first, then I direct my attention toward contour. The clay is worked in variations of slabs, from thick to thin, building upward and pushing outward. Sometimes I cut and fold the clay, like wet origami, to relieve stress in the clay that would come from pushing it out.” [2]

For an interview with Cary Weigand, visit http://combustus.com/cary-weigand-oregon-ceramic-artist/, from which this profile was adapted. (Accessed 3/18/2015)

For a video segment on the artist that originally aired on Oregon Art Beat, see http://www.opb.org/television/programs/artbeat/segment/ceramic-artist-cary-weigand/. (Accessed 3/18/2015)

[1] Unknown author, “Ceramics: Cary Weigand,” K.O. Jewel, http://www.kojewel.com/main/ceramics-cary-weigand.htm. (Accessed 3/18/2015)

[2] Cary Weigand, quoted in “Cary Weigand: Emerging Artist 2011,” Ceramic Arts Daily, 4/11/2011,
http://ceramicartsdaily.org/ceramic-art-and-artists/ceramic-artists/cary-weigand-emerging-artist-2011/. (Accessed 3/18/2015)