Nancy Nevergole
created bulbous, elongated, exaggerated, sculptural clay forms, often in unexpected size and proportions. Her large forms commanded space and attention while her smaller work lent for a more intimate viewership. Each piece was painterly hand glazed with a color palette that ranged from soft pastels, vibrant acid hues, to monotone black and white.
Nancy’s work was regarded as lyrical, with a humorous charm and erotic elements. She never made the same piece twice. Electing to make a group of work in themes and then moving on to the next idea; rarely, if ever, to return to that series of work again. When requested to recreate a piece that sold, she would simply and defiantly say, that it had already been done. She put a spirit or emotive energy into all her pieces. She was not interested in recreating that spirit. She was more interested in moving on to explore other spirits in her mind’s eye.
Nancy was never short of ideas for pieces. Her inspiration came from a wide variety of muses: family celebrations and events, the numerous places she traveled, sailboat or kayak excursions, gardens she visited, films and music, books and poems she read.
She devotedly walked to Sawyer Street Studios everyday for over 30 years. She walked in all seasons and in all weather; coming into the studio drenched from rain, half frozen, sun kissed, wind blown and always invigorated. Her ten mile walk from home to studio was an important component of her daily creative practice. These walks provided her with either sensory overload or quiet reflection. A time to dream about concept and color. She said that no two walks were ever the same… like her pieces.
Her primary objective in making work wasn’t to sell, though she regularly exhibited her work and sold many pieces over the years. She made work for her own pleasure and delight. Often she worked with an impish smile on her face, as she constructed a strange body part or painted with a wild underglaze color. Nancy loved challenging perspectives of vessels, bodies, flowers and animals; often merging or combining parts to make an evocative new whole. She would quietly and gleefully watch people’s reactions to her work; to see if they were as enraptured as she was with a piece.
Clay was the only medium that she chose to work in for 40 plus years. She took a ceramics class in college and after graduating took an apprenticeship in Maine, but primarily she was self-taught. She was a curious person and was always learning from books, lectures, workshops and from her large community of clay friends and artists. Her style and technique came from her own experimentation. Nancy thrived on experimentation.
Nancy bravely battled cancer for the last year and a half of her life. She continued working throughout her treatment. “Shamans” was the last series of work she made. Small and wonderfully strange figures, each with their own unique qualities. She created dozens of Shamans and gave these pieces to all the people that helped her throughout her cancer journey. A last, meaningful gift to the people in her life.
Knowing her quirky, feisty, loving spirit has been the greatest gift. She was one of a kind, just like her work.
Lulu- studio mate and close friend
Nancy was interviewed by Lights Out Gallery in July 11, 2021 as part of their Artist Interviews collection.
This video interview was filmed in Nancy’s studio at Sawyer Street Studios in South Portland, Maine.
Click the link below to hear Nancy talk about her work, in her own words, and feel her spirit in a way that words can’t adequately describe.
