Dawn Malcolm
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Dawn Malcolm, a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was educated as a biologist but is an illustrator and sculptor by design. She uses form, imagery and allegory to conjure stories in unsuspecting minds and is particularly interested in the ancient myths that help us make sense (and nonsense) of the natural world and the human condition. Diverse mythic sources inform her functional ware, sculptures and tile work as she scaffolds her own stories through clay. Before science objected, imagination was tapped to explain the natural world. Gods created the earth and sky from the bones of their parents, seasons changed at their emotional whims, and a mighty serpent encircled the Earth, waiting for the end of times. I study mythology, past and present,
sacred and profane, because it illuminates our struggle to comprehend the incomprehensible. I look for gaps between personal as well as cultural realities and the shapes of the stories we tell ourselves to find a meaningful place in life. As a writer/illustrator, I rendered myths, legends and folk tales of fantastic proportion. Now clay offers me a third dimension in which to explore the archetypes and adventures that seem to have an emotional resonance with the human heart. Here I find the excitement of a surprised voyeur, looking through a window and finding a mirror.
