Jaye Lawrence Past Work

J A Y E L A W R E N C E Sculpture

(1972) Jaye was enrolled in the ASU MFA program in Sculpture. The work for this was presented in an exhibition in 1974 titled Jaye Lawrence.

(1972) A parking lot sale in Tacoma, WA yielded a find of about 400 feet of large tug boat rope. This became the base for these "weavings" which all together weighed over 3000 pounds.

A catalogue from the time shows some of the pieces from that body of work.

(1974) MFA Degree Arizona State University. This work resulted in a MFA degree in Sculpture from Arizona State University.

These pieces were innovative as they marked the dividing line between sculpture and the craft of weaving. These pieces were heavy and dimensional and outside of the label of craft.

(1974) Jaye and her husband artist Les at the opening of her show in Santa Barbara, CA featuring her stuffed shaped fabric, hair, string, paint, and wire sculptures.

(1976) Flags shown at the Fairtree Gallery in NY, NY. They were made of nylon fabric with a photographic emulsion along with horse hair, feathers, ribbon, buttons, gold braids and waxed thread.

(1977) Shoe became the subject of fascination as the foot covering became subject matter.

(1978) Investigations began into the use of leather as a sculpture material. Experiments with rawhide and animal gut to form works. The gut could be laminated and molded much like paper and when dried it would hold its shape. Following the theme cosmetics were used to color some of the pieces.

A working title for this work centered around Stalagmites and Stalactites as would be found in old caves.

Work Timeline

Jaye Lawrence Graduated from The University of Arizona with a BFA degree in Art. She has always been interested in sculptures made from fibers and the experimental works by the international weavers who were moving toward sculpture away from any semblance of function. Her first pieces utilized a primitive back-strap loom where she replaced much of the fiber elements with wire. The resulting flat weavings could be shaped into three dimensional forms. The pieces often received natural element such as bone, wood, and even horse hair. As the work evolved the loom disappeared. Work evolved as three dimensional use of fiber material.