Crista Ann Ames
Crista Ann Ames
Crista Ann Ames is a sculptor working primarily in ceramics and textiles.
Through the layering of mythology, iconography and personal narrative, Crista explores how our own animal nature relates to the ways we establish and sustain personal relationships. Raised on a small hobby farm in Washington State, Crista often draws on her own experiences to explore pastoral life, animal husbandry, women’s craft and fertility.
Crista attended Washington State University where she obtained her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Ceramics with a minor in Art History, and Disability Studies. After receiving her BFA, Crista attended Utah State University for Post Baccalaureate studies in Ceramics.
Ames received her MFA from the University of Montana. She has been an artist in residence at A.I.R. Valluaris in France, Guldagergaard International Ceramics Research Center in Denmark, the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT, The Clay Studio of Missoula, Santa Fe Art Institute, and Red Lodge Clay Center. Crista is currently an artist in residence at Gallery One Visual Arts Center.
I am a sculptor who works primarily in ceramics and textiles. I find that the integration of both permanent and impermanent materials conveys my interest in approaches to memory, loss and transformation. Just as the act of remembering transforms an experience into something different, time degrades some elements and leaves others to endure.
Through the layering of mythology, iconography and personal narrative, my work explores how our own animal nature relates to the ways we establish and sustain personal relationships. I draw on my own experiences to explore pastoral life, animal husbandry, women’s craft and fertility.
In bridging the gap between myth and experience, I utilize my artistic practice to create altogether new stories that tell contemporary tales of trauma, joy and womanhood.
