We recently connected with Tennyson Corley and have shared our conversation below.

Tennyson, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

I have been a two dimensional artist for years. I have always been drawn to illustrrations, especially children’s book illustrations. I was raised by an illustrator, so maybe it comes with the territory. In 2019,I enrolled in a wheel throwing class at a local pottery studio and fell in love with clay. There was something cathartic and child-like about it. Immediately I signed up on the longest waiting list for a membership and a year later I had it! I practiced throwing pottery with no real direction but to just calm my mind and to get my hands dirty. I wasn’t very good at the craft, however. Cut to March 2022, I had just created a public art project for Audubon(SC) at Folly Beach when I had the idea to start playing around with sculptural forms in my clay practice. I created these animals or better “characters” and immediately gave them back stories. I took a leap of faith and listed them on my site and they were a successs. As a painter, I felt lost in the sea of other artist, but as a sculptor, I felt like I had something to say. I had found my voice. It combined my love of illustration, working with my hands, creating creatures from my visions, and playing with their humorous, sometimes dark identities and I coined them my Ceramic Illustrations.

Tennyson, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am Tennyson Corley, raised outside of Columbia, South Carolina on a horse boarding stable surrounded by a zoo of animals and land to get lost in. My mother was an illustrator and greatly influenced my love for art while not sugar-coating the business. I decided to attend Columbia College for Studio Art, but took a medical leave due to fighting Meningitis. After college, I still kept up my practice under the terms, in my mind, I would succeed without a degree.

The years in between 2022 and college were spent experimenting with my work. I also got married and had a child. I found my footing and myself in my art. I had the support I needed and the mental fortitude to carve out a space and time to work, while still remaining present with my family. The great balancing act.

In March 2022, I stepped away from painting. I craved working with my hands, playing in the mud, and creating something from a literal ball of dirt, which is then fired into exsistence. Each creature is a mix between Beatrice Potter illustrations and an Orwellian Animal Farm character. My process is always different. Sometimes the story comes first and sometimes it is the character. But in the end, each is as unique as you an I, and will never be replicated again.

My work is tactile. I use velvet underglaze for a matte finish and gloss and resin for a shiny coat. People are shocked when I say they can pick up my work. It isn’t like a painting where the oils of your hand will eventually lead to its decay. Ceramics can survive for centuries.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing about being an artist is taking something from your own imagination and bringing it to life and, also, seeing people connect to that work. I feel like I need to create to live. Not finacially speaking but metaphorically. That is my passion. With out it I would feel like a shell of a person. It gives me purpose while also being therapeutic. Within that, when someone connects to my work and shares that connection with me, it adds fuel to the fire to keep creating. However, I don’t create my ceramic illustrations for people, patrons, or clientelle specifically. I don’t like outside influence. I feel like that would lessen their impact and undermine my artistic merrit. I can tell when I create something based on someone else’s request as opposed to my own ideas. I also stay away from cliches for the most part.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I have many things driving me to create besides just the basic desire. I still want to prove to myself that I can be a successfull artist without “formal” training or a college degree. I want to show my son what you can do with the determination to succeed even when the path isn’t laid out in front of you. I also feel like my creative journey has just began, even though I have been an artist for years, my sculptures feel like my true calling. I have only been working with clay for a couple of years, and sculpting for nine months. This collection has a long way to go, my ideas are over flowing, and I am here for the ride.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tennysoncorleyart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tennyson_corley_art
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/TennsonCorleyArt/
• Other: https://www.shaingallery.com/tennyson-corley