Elissa Farrow-Savos


When creating a piece, I take what is most personal and assume it is universal. I use my own experiences and emotional responses, and turn them into a narrative work that suggests to the viewer a peek into their own life. The stories I tell are about inner worlds revealed – the things that we are not supposed to talk about and perhaps not supposed to feel, about our bodies, our families, and our life’s choices. The actual pieces are a process all my own. As I sculpt, I push the polymer clay past its intended size and boundaries, then incorporate found objects, and finally paint the baked clay with layers of oils. All parts share importance, but the actual objects – rusty metal and weathered wood, decaying bones and empty boxes, scraps of fabric and bits of paper – this abandoned debris connects the sculptural world I have created to the actual world of the viewer. They are a bridge from my imagination to theirs, and although the story I mean to tell may differ from what the viewer ultimately takes away, what is most important is that we have shared the tale.

RESUME