Cast Stone Figurative Sculptures

The figure has always been Deborah Ballard’s muse in her sculptures. Ballard works in bronze, cast stone, and plaster; her figures ranging from life-size to hand-size. Ballard says, ...

The figure has always been Deborah Ballard’s muse in her sculptures. Ballard works in bronze, cast stone, and plaster; her figures ranging from life-size to hand-size. Ballard says, “I always have this inner voice that dictates what I do and how I think.” The concept of the human body as a “container,” a vessel of thoughts, hopes and dreams, began when she was an undergrad studying ceramics at SMU. Her early vessels transformed into free-standing figures by the time she completed her MFA at SMU in 1990. Throughout her MFA, she worked daily from the model and credits SMU Professor Jay Sullivan for teaching her the technical skills she uses to make her work. In the 25 years since, her sculptures have developed from her imagination, with a realism based in her foundation of direct observation from the model and gross anatomy classes. Her observation of body language has strongly influenced her work, as in her Reflection series...

Deborah Ballard is best known for conceiving of figures and groupings of figures who relate to one another (and the viewer) through their body language, relationships and dialogue. She allows for her figures to effect and be affected by the mental and physical aspects of everyday life that are anything but commonplace. “I feel that these figures will invite each viewer to bring their individual experiences, creating meaningful interactions with the sculpture,” says Ballard. Ballard casts her own bronzes, stones and plasters, yet she shuns editions. Her constant experimentation with technique and media makes every sculpture unique. Ballard earned her undergraduate degree in ceramics from Southern Methodist University in 1981, and her MFA in sculpture in 1990. Since then, Ballard has taught sculpture classes at numerous institutions including SMU and the Creative Arts Center in Dallas. In 2000, Ballard was an artist-in-residence and instructor in a dual partnership between Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and the Dallas Museum of Art. Among the many grants and awards Ballard has received are an installation at Connemara Conservancy in Plano, Texas, and a residency at Seaside in Florida. Also, she received grants for the Art Park Project and a Buffalo Bayou installation, both in Houston. In 2008, she designed the Voices of Peace award presented to Maya Angelou by Hope for Peace & Justice in Dallas. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Meadows Museum at SMU, as well as the San Angelo Museum of Art in Texas, and the Museum of Art of Monterey, Mexico. She was previously represented by Edith Baker Gallery in Dallas for 20 years, and has been represented by Valley House since 2004, where she had her first solo exhibition in 2007. In 2015, Ballard's work entered the collection of the HALL Texas Sculpture...

Deborah Ballard is best known for conceiving of figures and groupings of figures who relate to one another (and the viewer) through their body language, relationships and dialogue. S...