Neil P. Doherty
Although I had taken several art classes in my formative years and thought my path may lay in the fine arts it did not materialize for various reasons… “that’s life” as they say.
After the completion of my degree in Mechanical Engineering in Canada and moving to Seattle, Washington, I started with photography in 2004, painting in acrylics followed, and eventually, I found myself with the fervent desire to return to one of my artistic passions and began creating ceramics again in 2008.
At that time, I would make a few pieces each year, and eventually, I was creating dozens of pieces of ceramic work annually. Initially, my ceramics was whimsical, pop art-like, comical, sometimes ‘fantastical’, but over time, my ceramic sculpture became more refined, I challenged myself to make more technical designs, the ideas developed and matured leading to darker, more detailed expressions, that focus on Life, Death, Religion, Sex, and Sexuality. The ideas and concepts of my artwork all manifest from life’s experiences, wishes, wants, shortcomings, achievements, and failures.
My art can receive many different reactions which always reminds me of what Mexican poet and academic, Cesar A. Cruz said: “Art is meant to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”
Perhaps that is an unintentional but welcomed outcome, trying to transport the observer out of their zone, seeing things from a different and new perspective. The end result is an individual piece of artwork that I hope all who view it will appreciate.
I currently live in Bear Valley Springs, California, and though I continue to work primarily in hand made hollow ceramic sculptures, when time permits, I also do enjoy the ability to periodically work in bronze, glass, painting, photography, and synthetic materials.
