Nature is an important place for artists because it is a place that, for centuries, inspires creativity and it becomes intertwined with their work. The pacific northwest is the perfect place for this with our deep ties to our environment around us. Artist Eric Nelsen from Vashon Island, Washington, chose to pursue a career in the arts with his passion for ceramics. He uses wood firing techniques with clay and makes pieces by hand. He is quoted saying, “Clay is about the unadulterated refractory qualities of the earth: it will melt only at the point where earth melts”. He has multiple solo exhibitions and permanent installations over the course of his career and Western Washington University is lucky enough to be the home for one collection from his early career called “Ancient Life Symbols”. Eric Nelsen’s work, both early and more current, is exciting because of his mixing of inspirations of nature, ancient techniques, and different cultural styles.
Eric Nelsen began his career at a young age, getting involved in ceramics and clay art in early high school. He is the son of noted architect Ibsen Nelsen, who is known for his Museum of Flight Building at Boeing Field as well as multiple buildings on Western Washington University campus. He was also a member of the first Seattle Design Commission; Nelsen’s creative life obviously began early on being from a creative household. In 1975, he traveled to Japan under sponsorship of American sculptor Isamu Noguchi where he was able to study pottery in Bizen, Japan. This trip was a huge turning point for Nelsen’s career as an artist. The inspiration from Japanese culture can be seen within his style. In 1976, with the help from Japanese potter, Mitsuo Morioka, they constructed one of the first anagama style kilns in the United States. The anagama kiln is a style brought to Japan and China around the fifth century and is a wood firing style with multiple firing chambers. In 1981, he apprenticed at Kaneshige Michiaki workshop in Bizen, Japan. These travels were influential on Nelsen’s driving force as an artist and continues to shape his work today.
He says that he 
is inspired by “The historical trajectory of the art, man-made art objects from ancient civilization throughout history”. This is very evident in his work for Western Washington University, which is titled, “Ancient Life Symbols”. He also mentions drawing inspiration from other artists and likes to do his own version of other art he sees. According to the plaque next to his work on the Environmental Science Building, the symbols are representative of the human journey. It states that “the motifs are derived from a diverse range of religious and cultural icons”. The tiles were also some of Nelsen’s earliest work, made in 1975.
Frank Stella and Joan Miro were some famous artists that had work that draws some similarities to Nelsen’s work. Which would be the use of bold colors and shapes without a definite meaning unless further explained by the artist. This work could be considered very abstract.
As for other art during this time, a simple google image search of 1970’s art showed some patterns. There were lots of rich, contrasting colors. There was also a lot of
more abstract art, which fits with Eric Nelsen’s work from that time period as well. The colors are saturated and there is a lot of use of overlaying shapes to make stripe-like patterns. The ceramics art of this time period was rather mundane, which shows why Nelsen stood out as an artist. Contemporary art was also very popular at this time. Its interesting because photo-realism was becoming very popular, however Eric Nelsen’s work is the exact opposite of that. It was also the Pictures Generation, which involved the appropriation of images from the consumer media. Eric Nelsen’s art could be put in the conceptual category because he had so much meaning behind it.
Since the start of his career in 1975, Eric has had over 16 solo exhibitions and multiple permanent installations and collections such as at Arizona State University Museum of Art, Harbor-view Medical Center, and here at Western Washington University. Eric Nelsen’s career as an artist shows a lot of diversity within his work. He brings in inspiration from his time in Japan as well as other ancient civilization artwork with a modern twist of colors and design. His artwork displays a
story of his life from growing up in Washington State and the influence of nature and the influences of wood firing techniques through apprenticeships in Japan, and having a creative, architect father. Just like he believes that symbols provide a visual representation of a human journey, he displays his own in his work here at Western Washington University.
“Clay is about th
e unadulterated refractory qualities of the earth: it will melt only at the point where earth melts”
Contributors
Kayla Scheffer- Research
Anna Vowels- Research/Photography
Olivia Slama
Sources
Ament, Deloris Tarzan. “Northwest Ceramics: Still Alive In Our Affections.” Artguide Northwest. Tipton Publishing, 1 January 1998. Web. 24 April 2017.
Grimley, Janet. “Eric Nelsen.” Pottery Northwest. Traver Gallery. Web. 24 April 2017.
Roberts, Gregory. “Architect Ibsen Nelsen, Who Loved Seattle, Dies.” seattlepi.com Hearst Seattle Media, 05 Aug. 2001. Web. 24 April 2017.
“Eric Nelsen | Artifact House | 2015.” The Art Spirit Gallery. Artsystems. Web. 26 April 2017.
“Eric Nelsen.” Eric Nelsen-Artist Biography. AskART. Web. 25 April 2017.
“Eric Nelsen Art at the Traver Gallery.” Traver Gallery. Web. 24 April 2017.
“Eric Nelsen.” Ceramics Today. Ceramics Today. Web. 25 April 2017.
http://www.artguidenw.com/NWCeramics.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975
http://www.travergallery.com/gallery_artist_details/Eric Nelsen.aspx?&da=resume&upcoming=0
http://www.theartspiritgallery.com/artist/Eric_Nelsen/works/
http://www.ceramicstoday.com/potw/eric_nelsen.htm
https://www.google.com/search?q=famous+1970+artists&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS737US737&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwili8a7zsLTAhXFKWMKHZhOBssQ_AUICSgC&biw=1363&bih=769#imgrc=onyPpYojYRDH6
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