James Tisdale

Slide Show

James Tisdale is an international and nationally known ceramic artist and director of the ceramics program at the Austin Museum of Art School in Austin, Texas. The historical art influences on his work
range from the figurative work of the Renaissance, the kitsch work of the 30’s and 40’s, to the “innocent God-felt work of southern folk art.” He graduated from University of Mississippi and gained his Masters at the University of Georgia in 1988. In 2004 he was the winner of the NCECA Residency Award. His work is in numerous public collections.

James Tisdale’s narrative sculptures are a visual journal - an outward manifestation of his views toward the world around him. He explores the web of contradictions he was exposed to through a devout upbringing in rural Mississippi. “My work is directly influenced by my family, my religion and my roots in Mississippi. It is impacted by both the beauty and the ugliness of that region's traditions, trappings and teachings. The work is not to besiege the world in great revelations, nor to change the views of others. Its intention is to establish an understanding and order of the influences that have shaped and moulded my thoughts, beliefs and actions to the world around me.”