Peggy Albers

Artist Statement

Animals in the wild evoke visual and emotional response. For the past 25 years, I have worked as a clay artist/sculptor focused on the significance of wild animals and birds in our world from raptors, to scavengers, to primates, and different creatures in between. With global warming and deforestation, animals in forested and bush areas have become more endangered each year. Along with environmentalists and animal specialists, artists, too, can contribute to the important awareness of protecting endangered animals. In particular, orangutans and gorillas, especially, are few in number and are in extreme danger of extinction in the wild. Thus, the direction of my sculptural work most recently centers on primates. The plasticity of clay allows me to capture the emotional essence and physical details of these beautiful animals. My work is fired in electric, gas, salt and soda kilns which generate a range of different surface features and textures. Because I work within a community art center, my sculptures are limited by size, but my exploration of surface treatments is vast. The scope of this submitted work represents years of moving towards a more focused attention on primates, which I intend to continue in future. This work spotlights the importance of protecting wildlife and putting faces to their significance in our lives.