Tiny Town Gallery is pleased to present Cut, Mend, Cast. by Petra Juarez (she/her/hers) for the month of November 2021.

"This is a show about the way our bodies and selves can break. I’m interested in coming apart and mending.

"Most of the clay work is made on a potter's wheel, then carved or cut. In some instances, the pieces are sewn back together using medical sutures, thread, or wire. In others, the carvings act as decorative scars. In my usual pottery practice I make what is referred to as functional pottery. Many of the pieces in this show have been made to be less functional through my interventions. It is my hope that they become more engaging because of what they have undergone.

"The metal work consists of cast seed pods and flowers. Depending on your perspective, each seed or flower is either gone forever as it burns away during the casting process, or rendered permanent as the empty space it left behind is filled with metal. I have placed a seed pod or flower from the same plant under each cast piece so they can continue to sit in conversation with each other.

"I am hopeful that as we move through our challenges, both personal and universal, we can accept fragility, imperfection and transience as part of our human condition."

 

Tucson-based artist Petra Juarez works primarily in the mediums of clay and metal and is interested in bringing meaning and craft to everyday objects.

She has lived all over the US, and for a time in Spain. She studied English Literature and Art History at Oberlin College, and also has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Petra has worked in many different fields, including several years in the restaurant industry and nearly a decade as an emergency room nurse. She is Chicana, and as such, resides in multiple cultural spheres. Inhabiting so many different spaces deepened Petra’s tenderness for our shared humanity and the human body, which she believes is reflected in her artwork.

You can find more of Petra's work online at her website and on Instagram.