Sculptor-professor James Maurelle gives recycled materials new life
Sculpture Professor James Maurelle doesn’t work on one project and then move on to the next.
His process flows freely.
“I surround myself with materials and objects and work on them all at the same time. I’m like the eye of the hurricane. That’s how I’ve developed over the years,” he says. “It’s the closest thing to freedom that I’ve embodied in my entire life.”
On this episode of Challenge. Change., Maurelle, Clark’s first full-time sculpture professor, explains why he’s passionate about using recycled objects and the magic of keeping child-like play in artistry.
“When you become institutionalized with art, there are a certain type of commandments you adhere to,” he says. “I personally don’t adhere to them. I’m holding on to that sense of wonder in play.”
Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.
In Sculptural Dynamics, simple materials become storytelling vessels
“I watch a sense of wonder develop in my students,” Maurelle says. “It’s such a grand privilege to see someone have ideas that they didn’t think they could have.”
Read the story in Clark University Magazine, winter 2024
