Babette Wainwright

medium: ceramics
wisconsin arts board artist fellowship award winner, 2002

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Lullaby 2007 Ceramics	Lullaby 2 2008 Ceramics	Lullaby 2008 Ceramics
Lullaby 2007 Ceramics	Lullaby 2007 Ceramics	Prayer Circle 2007 Ceramics
Secret Nest 2 2008 Ceramics	Selakaykikraze 2010 Ceramics	She who begins, She who ends 2007 Ceramics
St. Francis 2011 Ceramics

Contact information
Artist resides in: Madison, WI
Email Address: babuart2@aol.com

Artist statement
I have a lifetime of stories to tell about my African connection to the world of spirits. I tell my stories through the primitive styles and techniques of my art. I enjoy working with low fire clay. I work primarily with red clay; I will burnish a piece to convey a particular emotion. I incorporate the form of the African Rada drum in my work. To me it represents the eloquent storytellers of the world. I have been designing sculptures that explore the use of oxides, rawhide, wooden pegs, rusty nails and sisal cords.

I want my work to speak of the survival, both of the human spirit and of human culture. I want it to honor humankind's rites of passage, and to anchor us to a common human experience.

I have been working on my 'lullaby' series since 2007. I start each piece from the basic drum shape and let it evolve from there. It’s a slow process due to a desk job which limits studio time.

This series explores motherhood in all its forms; from the all loving mother saint, to the darkest and most vampire like style of mothering. I have been making these sculptures in a size which can be cradled in one's arms. I plan to work in a wide range of sizes, limited only by the dimensions of my kiln. My goal is to thoroughly explore the theme of motherhood.

Biography
Babette was born and raised in Haiti. She works mainly from childhood memories. She paints peasant women who are the Poto Mitan in her Vodou tradition.

Babette exhibits in Wisconsin and nationally. She has worked on educational art projects in Haiti and in Mexico. In 2000, she earned an MFA from UW Madison. She uses the female image to convey her sense of up rootedness. Babette’s work is informed by her African roots.

Babette has been honored with grants from the Wisconsin Arts Board. In 2001 she received a NCECA Merit Award and in 2010 she won the second prize at Woman Made Gallery’s 15th International Exhibition. Babette is also a published writer and poet whose theme is her cultural dilemma.

She lives in Madison with her partner Kathy. Her daughter Angela lives in Virginia. To finance a limited studio time, Babette labors as administrator of a personal care agency.