Meet-the-Artist Reception Tonight, 5-7 p.m.

TELLURIDE – With 30 pieces, “Being Human” reveals much about where Telluride sculptor Julie McNair is in her life and career as an artist. By technical mastery and astounding creativity, she infuses each ceramic figure with her sense of humor and joy of life. It’s an interesting crowd, this collection of recent work in her five-year-old series. Their quirky playfulness is an easy invitation to contemplate deeper issues.

“I start a piece with a specific idea, whether it’s a personal concern or more of a big picture dilemma. From that starting point,” says McNair, “I jump into the creative flow. The finished piece ends up embodying that energy.”

The human form is a perfect format for turning the intangible into tangible, and is part of what makes this body of work so successful.

“I’ve had ideas for decades that I could never express to my satisfaction, until now,” she says.

From wrestling with man’s long-term impact on the planet to discovering self-love, these figures express highly personal emotional content as well as create relevance to all humankind.

McNair has received critical acclaim both statewide and nationally for the originality and technical innovations of this series. With agility and confidence she is able to take the skills honed over 35 years working in a variety of media  and apply them, often in unorthodox ways, to her clay. Her intriguing surface textures, frequently created with the use of press molds, are enhanced by detailed painting and sealed with a post-fired patina reminiscent of cast metal sculpture.

The show’s undercurrent of ecology can be seen in the multiplicity of meanings of each title. “This is such an exciting time to be alive,” says McNair. “As humans we are facing big issues. My concern has more to do with how we handle them than ultimate solutions.” By finding the humor in the human condition, McNair seems to defuse the egotistical importance that plagues each of us from time to time.

“Being able to exhibit so many of my works in one location is such an honor,” says McNair with gratitude. “So many pieces have left my studio for competitions and galleries, never to be seen as part of the larger whole.”

As with each of us, each “Being Human” sculpture is divinely complete, but with a larger population one can enjoy a more true perspective.

McNair studied sculpture at North Texas State University, where she earned a

Bachelor of Fine Arts degree; she went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Wyoming. After graduating, McNair worked as an artist-in-residence for Northwest Community College in Powell, Wyo., until being hired as an assistant professor at Mississippi State University. After learning to be a grants writer, she moved to Houston, Tex., and worked for Creative Alternatives, an after school art program. The Art League of Houston then hired her as their executive director. McNair moved to Telluride in 1985 in search of less stressful work and a more laid back lifestyle and found self-employment most rewarding. She owned and operated McNair Gallery for more than 17 years, representing herself and other emerging artists.

McNair has worked for the Ah Haa School for the Arts, where she has taught since 1992, as curriculum and exhibitions coordinator. Now working full-time in her studio, McNair is currently represented by Telluride Gallery of Fine Arts and in Denver by Sandra Phillips Gallery. Visit www.juliemcnair.com to view more of this series and lists of exhibitions and awards.

The show runs through September 24, with an opening reception tonight, 5-7 p.m., with a talk by the artist at 4:30 p.m. in the Daniel Tucker Gallery.