About the Artist
“I use natural objects as a visual resource for my work as they have always been an integral part of my life.”
Whitney Forsyth is a ceramic artist and accomplished art professor who lives and works in Tulsa, Olahoma. She grew up in Manitou Springs, Colorado and began working with clay at an early age. She has a BFA from Oklahoma State University and a MFA from New Mexico State University. Her ceramic work has been exhibited in museums, galleries, and art centers, as well as private and public art collections throughout the United States.
Her story
1981
Whitney Forsyth grew up in Manitou Springs, Colorado and began working with her hands and clay at an early age. She took her first clay classes at Bemis School of Art at the Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs, CO.
1991
Whitney Forsyth received a BFA from Oklahoma State University and an MFA from New Mexico State University. She has been making large scale ceramic sculpture for the majority of her ceramic career.
Romanian Poppies, Simona’s Garden, was made a few years after we adopted our daughter Simona from Romania. It was an installation of over 100 larger than life size poppy flowers representing the flowers that grow in large numbers in Eastern Europe.
Ravens and Red Berries is a large ceramic installation that discusses the struggles and complexity of the child welfare system in Romania. For over 20 years my husband and I have volunteered to help alleviate the conditions in orphanages and poor areas in many parts of Romania.
In 2012, Whitney began to utilize one of her familiar motifs in a new way. In the Windward series, hundreds of delicate leaves or petals cascade together to create expansive custom wall installations. Since then, the series has grown to encompass multiple installations in art galleries, public commercial spaces, and even private residencies.
In 2017, Whitney and a group of Tulsa based clay artists joined together at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts. The large "mandalas" now featured in several of her exhibitions represent many of the new ideas that evolved in her work as a result of this amazing residency.
Many of Whitney's signature designs culminated together in her latest exhibition Reveal (All Things New). In it, cascading petals, a large scale mandala, and other individual pieces are installed as a visual response to the stained glass and architecture of First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa.