The last time we featured sculptor Jessica Laurel Louise, aka Jessica Dalva, she was exploring a ritualistic narrative with her feminine works. In the two years since, her art has developed to reflect a multitude of personal interests and skills; her hand-painted sculptures, shadow boxes, drawings, and recently, clay animation, collectively exhibit a cinematic taste. Communicating movement has become an important focus for Dalva. She keeps a diary of her excursions at her blog, from her travels to studying animal anatomy at Natural History Museum, and drying scarves in the wind. These have had a noticeable effect on her artwork.
“Nomad”
For example, in her latest piece, “Nomad”, her figure’s hair and scarf is blowing in the wind, undoubtedly inspired from her earlier observations. In her acrylic and polymer clay piece, “Don’t Look Now”, the figure is adorned with radiating paper along her spine (made from a coaster), creating a spiral effect. Perhaps the most impressive is Dalva’s experimentation with stop motion, entitled “That’s the Idea”, which you can watch here. For Dalva, whose sculptures are like emotional puppets captured in a moment, animation is a long-overdue, promising venture.
