Denise Incao recently gave a solo show of her ceramic and mixed-media work at the ‘Tis Gallery, up on the mezzanine, a smaller room and hallway hat she filled with her textured composite creations. While Denise is on the ‘Tis list of artists whose work is frequently included in themed shows, viewing her work concentrated in a smaller space gives one a stronger impression of what sings through her pieces — a deep reverence for the earth, a remembrance and an acknowledgment of useful things falling into decay, patterns in nature, like bird tracks in the sand or cracked mud from a dried-up puddle. Her love for the rhythms and patterns of nature permeate Denise’s work and have a softening, almost healing effect on those taking it in.
Primarily a hand-builder, Denise makes mostly sculptural vessels and wall pieces. The vessels are either coil-built or constructed in layers using press molds. Wall pieces are formed using the tossed- slab method, which can create rough, fluid edges. Her pieces are textured and carved. After an initial bisque firing, Denise uses oxide stains and mostly earthy colored glazes. Finally, after the glaze firing, she attaches embellishments and hanging elements, usually upcycled objects, to pull the whole piece together, sometimes using an interesting old upcycled frame to complete a piece.
Petite, soft-spoken, nut-brown from gardening and sporting some seriously nice tattoos, Denise has lived in Prescott since 1998. She found her way here from the Southeast, where she studied Sculptural Studio Ceramics at Auburn University in Alabama. While building a respectable representation at galleries and museums in the region, she also created and directed various ceramics programs for schools and camps in Alabama, Tennessee and North Florida, as well as adult classes and private lessons in Florida.
When she found out about Prescott College and its eco-experiential design-your-own-degree option, she moved out to pursue a Master’s degree. Her original focus changed and morphed over time as she found her tribe and began to put down roots. She met her husband, had a child and put her ceramics aside for a time, focusing on parenting and music for about twelve years.
During this time Denise was the creative leader and singer in the Denise Allen Band, and even toured Europe for eight summers. After the band broke up and her child started school (Denise home-schooled for a while) she was drawn to turn her creative focus back to ceramics, as well as her goal of pursuing an MFA from Prescott College, a self-designed program on nature-based expressive arts, ultimately titled Expressive Arts in Partnership with Nature. Her work at PC wasn’t so much about producing art as about finding paths to healing for humans and the earth through creating art in nature.
She designed classes and led workshop groups into chosen places where they would participate in activities like walking meditations, drawing or sculpting projects, and creating nature mandalas. All the programs she led were multi-sensory, the goal being to open oneself to and interact with the environment, with mindfulness not to introduce anything into it that would be harmful in any way.
She led groups often to Watson Woods Riparian Preserve because it was and is a place in the process of trying to heal itself. It had once been a dump, and she felt it would benefit from some human mindfulness and care. “It was opening up a way to connect that could be used interpersonally and between people and the environment. I tried to make it site-specific to a place that needed recovery and healing, so people could tap into the mutual healing benefits of that connection between the earth and the human.”
After finishing her Master’s, Denise taught nature-based expressive arts at PC for a while, as well as in the form of private workshops. She has also mentored students who were working on degrees with elements of art therapy and ecopsychology. The principles of her Master’s work strongly inform Denise’s creative work, as she continues to explore and forge her individual path as an artist.
Denise’s ceramic work has evolved over the years to incorporate found objects, especially man-made metal objects in the process of decaying and returning to the earth. She tries to use locally sourced items, like driftwood from Watson Lake, bones and other things found on hikes, and tries to remain as environmentally responsible as she can. “The texture and the feeling that comes through the pieces I create reflect my deep connection and love for the earth.”
This year Denise took another big step on her creative path and made the decision to join the board of the recently formed arts nonprofit Mud Makers. She found that the mission of this ceramics-centered group, namely to provide experiences in clay to the community, and especially to provide experiences which feature the healing elements of clay work for those in our community who might benefit most from it, resonated with her own artistic and soul journey. She brings not only her artistic and teaching skills to Mud Makers, but also a focused, single-minded determination to do a thing right. In addition to her board work, Denise leads workshops in hand-building. Mud Makers workshops are open to the public; you can register through mudmakers.org.
Denise’s work can often be found in the ‘Tis Gallery, and her small pieces are for sale at One Root Tea and Magpie Home and Gift in Prescott. She also has work at galleries in Pagosa Springs, Colorado and in Perdido Key and Pensacola in Florida.
More about Denise at deniseincao.com.
