About Me
YiFenn Strickland is a studio potter/maker of ceramic objects. When she is not making pots, she teaches ceramic classes at Leland Cultural Arts Center and works at Port City Pottery and Fine Crafts where she is a member. YiFenn is also represented by New Elements Gallery primarily for her sculptural work.
YiFenn has a multicultural and multidisciplinary background. She was born to Chinese immigrant parents in Laos and came to the US under president Carter’s Refugee Act of 1980. YiFenn was formally trained as an engineer, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Rochester Institute of Technology, and worked as a software developer for 10 years. After taking some time to raise a family, YiFenn took a career turn to study oil painting and then ceramics. She was hooked from the first moment she touched clay in 2012 under the direction of master potter Hiroshi Sueyoshi.
YiFenn and her family reside in Kure Beach, making it their home since 2006. Today, she lives with her husband and the youngest of their three grown children.
YiFenn has a multicultural and multidisciplinary background. She was born to Chinese immigrant parents in Laos and came to the US under president Carter’s Refugee Act of 1980. YiFenn was formally trained as an engineer, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Rochester Institute of Technology, and worked as a software developer for 10 years. After taking some time to raise a family, YiFenn took a career turn to study oil painting and then ceramics. She was hooked from the first moment she touched clay in 2012 under the direction of master potter Hiroshi Sueyoshi.
YiFenn and her family reside in Kure Beach, making it their home since 2006. Today, she lives with her husband and the youngest of their three grown children.
~YiFenn Strickland~
About My Work
Drawn to wabi sabi objects, nature & human forms, I create work primary in clay. I believe my fascination with clay originates from its connection to the earth and my desire to connect with nature.
I enjoy the freedom of creating sculpturally inspired functional forms, with emphasis on line and surfaces. While the sculptural work I create lies between representation and abstraction, my functional pieces oftentimes take on the wabi sabi aesthetic and may include brush work or abstract glaze design. I move to create work that mimics nature, evokes memories, echoes a moment in time, or to articulate emotions. It is my ultimate aim to create work that the viewers can directly sense it’s meaning without an artist’s explanation to limit their imagination. My process is dictated by the desire for chance creations and to break free from structure and conformity. The work I create is mostly hand built, sometimes wheel thrown then altered. For plates and trays, I often like to introduce texture onto the surface by tossing folded layers of clay onto a work surface to achieve a chance design. For pinch pots, I love to create texture surface by pushing the clay from inside the pot until the surface starts to resemble cracked earth. For sculptural vessels, I enjoy manipulating it by darting and reconstructing to achieve the desired lines and form. When it comes to finishing and glazing, much consideration is given to each piece. The finishing/glazing process differs depending on the form and the nature of its surfaces. Non-textured forms with fluid lines are often sprayed with overlapping layers of glazes, while forms with textured surfaces might have glazes hand-rubbed on them. Some of the forms might command a texturized glaze surface, while others merely require a thin wash of oxides. Currently, most of my work is oxidation fired in an electric kiln.
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My Studio
Currently, my studio is just one half of the garage. It houses -
*Both tables were custom made by my husband, a big supporter of my artistic pursuit. |
Resume
Awards
Jan/2023 - Art Residency Baldhead Island - No Boundary International Art Residency
Dec/2019 - Regional Artist Project Grant Winner 2019-2020 - The Arts Council of Wilmington & NHC
Dec/2016 - Regional Artist Project Grant Winner 2016-2017 - The Arts Council of Wilmington & NHC
May/2016 - Third Place Heritage Arts Award - Silver Arts Exhibition
April/2016 - Honorable Mention - WAA Annual Juried Spring Show
Feb/2016 - Merit Award - HANDCRAFTED National Juried Exhibition
June/2015 ~ Lynn and Harold Stanzlaus Memorial Award - AAS Regional Juried Show
Selected Shows and Exhibitions
~2024~ACME Art Studios Invitational, Wilmington NC: "Off to See the Wizards"
~2024~New Elements Gallery, Wilmington NC: Two-person Exhibition
~2023~Wilma Daniels Gallery, Wilmington NC: 2023 No Boundaries International Residency Exhibition
~2022~ LCAC Gallery, Leland, NC: Two-person show: “It’s Never Simply Black or White”
~2020~ New Elements Gallery, Wilmington NC: Three-person Exhibition
~2019~ New Elements Gallery, Wilmington NC: The Holiday Show
~2018- GreenHill Center for NC Art, Greensboro, NC: GreenHill Winter Show
~2018~ LCAC, Leland, NC: Two-person Show: “Ceramic Presentation”
~2017~ New Elements Gallery, Wilmington NC: Two-person Show: “Time and Place”
~2017~ ACE Gallery, Wilmington, NC: Arts Council of Wilmington/NHC Grand Awardees Exhibition
~2017~ Maria Vl Howard Arts Center at the Imperial Centre, Rocky Mount, NC: HANDCRAFTED National Juried Exhibition
~2016~ GreenHill Center for NC Art, Greensboro, NC: GreenHill Winter Show
~2016~ Hannah Block USO, Wilmington, NC: WAA Annual Juried Spring Show
~2016~ Maria Vl Howard Arts Center at the Imperial Centre, Rocky Mount, NC: HANDCRAFTED National Juried Exhibition
~2015~ New Elements Gallery, Wilmington NC: The Holiday Show
~2015~ Franklin Square Gallery, Southport NC: Associated Artists of Southport Regional Juried Show
Education
~2022 ~ Clay Figurative Sculpture - Cristina Cordova
~2019 ~ Life Figure Master Class in Oil - Dan Beck
~2017 ~ Penland Clay Intensive, "Out of Place" – Josh Copus & Ben Richardson
~2012-2015 ~ Clay Studies - NC Living Treasures Hiroshi Sueyoshi
~2005, 2006 ~ Plein Air Painting Master Class Studies – Rick McClure
~2003-2005 ~ Oil Painting Bi-weekly studies – Barbara Dix
~1984-1989 ~ Bachelor of Electrical Engineering – Rochester Institute of Technology
Ceramic Career
~2019 - Present ~ Ceramic Instructor – Leland Cultural Arts Center, Leland NC
~2015 - Present ~ Potter, Maker, Artist
Representations
~2015 - Present ~ New Elements Gallery – Wilmington, NC
~2020 - Present ~ Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts - Wilmington, NC
~2021~ Seagrove Sculpture & Pottery- Seagrove, NC
Professional Organizations
Coastal Carolina Clay Guild (CCCG)
Wilmington Art Association (WAA)