I recently wrote an article for the National Sculpture Society NorCal Chapter’s newsletter. In it, I shared some part of my experience with the COVID-19 lockdown. I’m POSTING MY article below. If you’d like to receive the ENTIRE newsletter, contact the NSS NorCal chapter to be included in mailings.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has taken so much from individuals and families around the world. My heart goes out to those that have lost friends and family members to the virus, and to those that are currently dealing with the disease...as well as so many who have suffered the loss of their livelihoods. Their losses are all of our losses.

Concept Sketches in Clay , Alicia N. Ponzio 2020

The Lockdown

Between pouring bronze with fellow artists at the collective foundry space where I cast my work, and teaching classes in my studio, my life before COVID-19 was more socially oriented. When the Shelter-in-Place orders were issued, there was no choice but to interrupt my studio classes in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. The foundry where I cast and weld my pieces was next to shudder. As the weeks wore on, I canceled workshops in various states and abroad. Each time a workshop was approaching, we’d wait a bit, thinking perhaps this situation would be under control by then.... as the reality set in that the situation would not resolve quickly I adapted in some ways: teaching private lessons on zoom, working on commissions in plaster or charcoal drawings. I felt bewildered at first without the bronze casting process; but more importantly, I missed connecting with my fellow artists that I work alongside at the foundry. There is a special bond that grows between human beings when we create things together.

Neighbors and friends began moving away, as their finances wore thin due to the extended lockdown. Before long, the shelves at the grocery store were cleaned out by mid day and there was not a scrap of toilet paper to be found. One could drive from my studio in North Beach to the foundry in Oakland in less than 15 minutes (unheard of on a normal day) as the city streets went quiet and the storefronts, dark. Indeed the world seemed to stand still for a moment. Like so many others, I planted an herb garden and took time to contact friends and family for video chats. During the most restrictive part of the lockdown, I returned to the “place” where I feel most at home and most protected: I poured my feelings into clay. Sculpting is at the core of my existence; and so during that pause, I returned to simply exploring emotions through form.

The Builder (working title), clay in progress, Alicia N. Ponzio 2020

Exploration Through Sketching

For some days, I made rough little sketches out of oil based clay with no armature and no detail. Often the sketch would begin as one idea only to morph into a very different one. The small scale and lack of armature gave me the freedom to allow that to happen. For me, sketching is a conversation between the idea and its physical form. I’ll have something in my mind that I would like to express, I’ll take a small amount of clay and create the simplest possible representation of that idea. Generally, I’ll spend very little time on it, sometimes limiting the time I spend on each to 30 minutes. When I can see the idea in the clay, I can interact with it in space, contemplate how it relates to my original idea, and develop it. Sometimes it will inspire new ideas, sending me down an entirely different path.

After a few days of sketching, one of the sketches spoke to me more than the others. The figure in the pose is crouched on a horizontal plinth. She’s building a structure out of the material of the plinth, digging and modeling the material as if it is mud or clay. The pose is deliberately reminiscent of that of a child playing in a sandbox. She appears to be apprehensive, looking back over her shoulder as if she’s worried about being seen. I revisited the pose in 4 or 5 separate sketches before I decided to develop it in a larger format.

Developing the Concept Further

“The Builder” (working title) is an archetype representing the human urge toward creativity. For some, creativity is expressed through art. For many others it inspires them to build a home, a family, a community, business, a new invention, or a unique solution to a problem. There is excitement and hope in the process of imagining something in our minds, and bringing it into existence in the physical world. The act of creating tends to generate momentum that can pass between individuals and organizations. To me, creativity is a form of freedom that many individuals are currently denied or must exercise at their own peril. While sketching this idea, I had in mind the millions of refugees who have in recent years left their homelands around the world because the sociopolitical environment there does not allow them to thrive. The desire to create, and the unique way we express it, forms an integral part of our identity as human beings.

The Builder (working title), detail of clay in progress, Alicia N. Ponzio 2020

I’m currently working on the piece at a 36” scale (roughly 18” tall in crouching position). I often work from imagination and that’s the case with this piece. The wonderful and maddening aspect of working from imagination, is that there is no limit to the likeness or pose: she could become anything, look like anyone. In the end, she represents thousands of choices that I have made, alone in my studio. Some of the details come from memories of people I have seen on the street or known, poses that I have observed while looking out the car window, people I have sculpted in the past, and/or trying the pose myself to experience how my body reacts to it. I envision at least 2 other figures that will be part of this series and relate to this figure. The shape of the plinth will create a visual theme that ties the figures together spatially.

Reflecting on the Process to Date

Progress with The Builder was slow at the outset, reflecting the fears and doubts that the Pandemic had sown in my mind. As I continue to work on it I’ve gained some momentum. Learning to connect with people in new ways and finding ways to create even during the lockdown have bolstered my confidence and hope. Long after it has been resolved and cast, it will tell the story of my personal experiences with the Pandemic and lockdown; and hopefully others will connect with the imagery and find a piece of their story in it as well.