Interview
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Zhanna Martin
Zhanna Martin grew up in a small town in Siberia, Russia. Although she initially pursued a career in architecture, she was always involved in some kind of art hobby. In 1998 she moved to the US and worked at architectural firms in the Washington DC area for a few years. In 2009, there was the “great recession” and she got laid off. Zhanna then took clay art classes. From her first contact with clay, she found herself making faces. Over time, her skills and reputation as a sculptor grew. She now considers her sculpting career as a career that she found and happily pursued owing to her circumstances.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“Growing up in Russia, I did not have a lot of toys, so my sister and I often made our own dolls and dressed them up. We would always making something out of what we could find around. Now I realize the value of that experience. I also loved painting, drawing, and anything creative. But, at that time I did not fully understand that what I was doing was “Art”. I just understood it as something I loved doing. “Art” was certainly not a professional career path known in my little town.
As a result, I ended up studying Architecture. Sadly this was an unfulfilling career for me. Being laid off from my job as an architect allowed me to pursue something I found fulfilling: Art! I took classes from well established artists and the more I took classes the more I enjoyed letting all sorts of emotions flow through my fingers, allowing me to create wonderful snapshots of human expression. When photos of my work started appearing in magazines and I won some awards, I realized I could professionally pursue my passion in what is known as “Art”.
“My lay-off from work was devastating to both me and my family but, I took it as a sign to change my path in life. One day I saw an ad for a clay class at the art center near my house. I had never worked with clay before. As I was working with it I started seeing faces popping out my hands. Faces that were happy, sad, silly, excited, nervous… all kinds of human emotions. I loved it!”
What inspires you most?
“People around me. I enjoy creating facial expressions in clay. I also enjoy seeing the emotions and expressions brought out in people when they see my work.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“Life is about the joy we feel. We have many talented artists who cover deep, provocative, dark or intense sides of human nature. I just want to spread joy and smiles. My stories are about the emotions (mostly happy) of regular people.”
How would you describe your work?
“My clay work is figurative busts that focuses on emotions and centers on facial expressions as the representation of those emotions.”
Which artists influence you most?
“From the old masters, it’s Lorenzo Bernini, Antonio Corradini, and Franz Messerschmidt. I have an extensive list of modern figurative sculptors, but my teachers have influenced me in their own way: Tip Toland, Curt Lacross, Philippe Faraut, Debra Fritz, Kelsey Duncan and Kevin Rohde.”
What is your creative process like?
“In my early days, when my technique was still in a raw stage, I never knew what the final sculpture would look like. I would just let my hands flow, and see what/who would come out in the end. I liked not knowing the outcome. Later, when I started to feel more confident in my skills, I started to work from sketches. That’s how I work now. I have control over the final product and the results are usually very close to what I would have envisioned.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“For as long as art has existed, it has preserved history. Also, art is about connecting with people’s emotions. It’s personal and at the same time, universal. These days, artists are no longer hermits, we are all out there in the world to inspire, connect and collaborate.”
“My art pieces are intuitive and are about life and daily living. The ‘secret message’ is to recognize every little joy coming your way.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“ I have had several noteworthy exhibitions including:
SOFA, Chicago; Regional Exhibition, Arnot Museum, Elmira NY; America's Clay Fest IV, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA; "Looking at Ourselves" juried show, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore MD; Publication in book "500 Figures In Clay Volume 2; Publication and Gold Award in Portrait issue in ARTASCENT Magazine (February 2015 issue).”
