Cliffel - "Underwater" Clay sculpture of giraffe sitting above an inverted house and trees

Kristen Cliffel • American B: 1967

Underwater C: 2010 • Clay 27” x 18” x 17”

Thirty-eight years later, during the Great Recession, Kristen and her husband faced financial ruin. Both couldn’t work due to medical emergencies. Kristen was hit by a truck, leaving her unable to mold clay for months. Her husband injured his neck and was unable to travel for his job. No work = no income = underwater home mortgage. For a woman raised by parents who believed every day that you were up and alive, was “the best day ever,” the response to potential catastrophe was obvious. Create a piece of art.

The Cliffel family’s ability to see light where there appears only darkness, brought a ray of sunshine to the Canton Museum of Art when Kristen’s light-hearted response to potential catastrophe joined the Permanent Collection.

To Kristen, art is communication. However visual artists, unlike dancers or actors, don’t have the luxury of time to tell their stories. “Using common images helps me quickly reel you in as a viewer and interpreter of the work.” Looking for an image to express the absurdity of their financial situation, Kristen imagined a giraffe swimming. “Giraffes drink water, but no one has ever seen one swim.” True enough.

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Also true is Kristen’s indomitable ability to keep falling forward, (the title of a recent exhibition). As a Skidmore College freshman, she saw her competitive skiing career end in injury. Plans for a medical career, followed down the drain. Back home in Cleveland, looking for a way back to a healthy mental and emotional state, she took a watercolor course at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Bingo! Passion reignited, New career direction found.

Four years later, the newly-minted art school graduate was in the Canadian Rockies creating shrines to beauty during a 9 month Banff residency. Back in Cleveland and waitressing in a local bar, she fell for a customer who shared her belief in the transformative power of travel. Marriage followed, then children. And so began an artistic career that continues to hold a mirror to her evolving domestic life.

Motherhood. Womanhood. Food that’s good. All hold stories to be told. Working in a Cleveland studio she shares with her mother, who came to art later in life, Kristen spins her ceramic spells convincing all who enter that -- although life is not always a bowl of cherries -- today, most certainly, is the best day ever.

Canton Museum of Art Permanent Collection • Gift of the artist, 2012.3

4 Ways to Sound Smart When Viewing at The Canton Museum of Art

1.
“She loves to draw viewers into her stories with common images, since visual artists must grab attention quickly.”

2.
“When she and her husband were both unable to work due to injury, their mortgage went ‘underwater.’ Cue the swimming giraffe.”

3.
“She found her passion for art in a watercolor class at the Cleveland Institute of Art. The veterinary profession’s loss was art’s gain.”

4.
“Her family mantra, ‘Today is the best day ever,’ led to a rather whimsical view of life’s ups and downs.”

Cliffel Timeline. Scroll over images to see timeline.

1967

Born in Cleveland, Ohio. The family included 7 children. Her father was an eye surgeon who was drafted into the Vietnam War when Kristen was young. He returned home with an attitude he instilled in his children that “life is messy, make the best of it and keep moving on.”

1983

The family house burned down and the entire family was forced to live in a hotel, but parents set the tone to be thankful everyone is okay and keep moving on.

1985

Entered Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, where she expected to study anatomy and physiology while skiing on the college ski team. Unfortunately, she was hurt skiing, so ended up dropping out and returning home.

1986

Out of school with no concrete plans, she decided to take a summer watercolor painting course at the Cleveland Institute of Art. “I found my heart singing.” Seeing her raw talent, the teacher encouraged her to apply to the school full time and she was accepted.

1990

Earned BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) from the Cleveland Institute of Art where she majored in ceramics and drawing. Received the school’s Mary C. Page award for Excellence. Named Studio Assistant at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, ME.

1991

Spent a 9 month residency at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Upon her return to Cleveland she worked as a waitress and ended up marrying one of the customers after he was brave enough to join her on a trip to Spain.

1993

Named Artist in Residence at Kohler Company in Kohler, WI. Also served as Visiting Artist/Instructor at the John Michael Kohler Center for the Arts in nearby Sheboygan.

1994

Invited to be in “Best of 1994” show at Ohio Craft Museum in Columbus, OH.

1995

Earned an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Ohio Arts Council. Won Ceramics Award at Denton Arts Council Gallery show in Denton, TX. Named Visiting Artist/Instructor, Children’s Program at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, CO. She repeated this position in 2004.

1997

Named Visiting Artist at Cleveland School for the Arts in Cleveland.

2000

Opened her own studio in Ohio City, OH. She shared space with her mother who became interested in art when Kristen attended college.

2005

Named to Ceramics Faculty at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Beck Center for the Arts. Also served as Visiting Artist at Notre Dame College. All are in the Cleveland area.

2009

A challenging year. Kristen was severely injured when hit by a truck in a restaurant parking lot. The family decided to cash in Amtrak miles and take a train trip to Glacier National Park because, “Why not?” Upon return her husband was also unable to work due to a damaged vertebrae in his neck. Family mortgage went “underwater.”

2011

Named Visiting Artist at Otterbein College in Westerville, OH. The following year she served as Visiting Artist/Instructor at the renowned Penland School of Crafts in Penland, NC.

2013

Awarded Creative Workforce Fellowship from the Cuyahoga Partnership for Arts and Culture. Included in “State of the Art,” a survey of contemporary American Art now at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

2015

Solo Exhibitions at Erie Art Museum and Canton Museum of Art. Earned Ohio Arts council fellowship.