Amanda Jaffe

My colorful porcelain tile art takes the form of public murals and smaller tile “paintings”. They are inspired by the two states where I live, New Mexico and Montana. The solitude found in the New Mexico desert is an inspiration. The turbulence of life leads me to create peaceful images, surrounded by the external chaos. The proximity to the Mexican border, and the color that flows across the Rio Grande affects the color in my art. Spending time in Montana brings a more muted color palette to the work. I often contrast these two influences on color in my pieces. My latest work depicts the Mesilla Valley in southern New Mexico with representations of the Rio Grande, intense sun, the importance of water to its survival, the green that the water brings to the desert, dust storms and most importantly the vibrant color of life here. Swimming in the ocean and pools is also a source of imagery. Water represents a calming space in my work, but this soothing water is often bordered by illusions to the threatening forms of water like blizzards and thunder storms. Water and swimming not only influences the imagery in my work but swimming is also important to how I am able to make art. While in the pool my mind can wander and images of pieces spontaneously appear to me, as well as an understanding of how I can technically make that image. This is such an important part of the processes of making art for me that I wonder if I could make work if not for swimming.

I was born in southern California and spent the first two years of my life near the ocean, then as a child moved to Boston, Philadelphia and Indiana. I received a BFA in ceramics from Indiana University and an MFA from the University of Montana. Hired in 1985 to teach ceramics at New Mexico State University I left Montana for Las Cruces, New Mexico. At the time of my retirement in 2011, after 30 years of teaching, the NMSU Art Gallery held a retrospective exhibition of my work: Looking Back, Looking Forward. Since then I have worked full time as an artist. Following graduate school I was an Artist-in-Residence at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana and years later at AIR Vallauris in southern France. Now I live in Helena from July till October and spend the rest of the year in Las Cruces, New Mexico as well as taking a yearly trip to the ocean. I am asked how I can make work with ocean imagery while living in the desert, I explain that my life has taken me to many environments that have influenced what I make. I started making clay objects as a child and have been working in ceramics since. While my work is relatively flat and mostly viewed on the wall, I want to make objects and in many ways see my art as three dimensional.

2-D, Ceramics