Artwork copyright Jeffry Mitchell. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2016.

Beastiary: Deer, 1994

Jeffry Mitchell
American (born 1958)

Location: Cedar Heights Middle School, Covington

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Animals are common subjects in artist Jeffry Mitchell's work. In 'Bestiary: Deer' Mitchell uses sentimental imagery to portray the fragility of the natural world, executed with both irony and sincerity.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with .

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Northwest artist Jeffry Mitchell calls himself a gay folk artist. He creates playful and joyous ceramic artworks and installations, as well as prints and drawings. His art explores ideas of gender, spirituality, vulnerability, and self-discovery. The artworks are relatable to our shared human experience -- they often look handmade and use familiar imagery such as animals and flowers. Clay is also a material that most of us have used in grade school or at some other time. Jeffry Mitchell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (1980) in painting from the University of Dallas. He moved to Japan to teach English and stayed for three years, apprenticing with a traditional production potter and studying calligraphy. In 1988, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. In 2012, the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle organized a retrospective exhibition "Like a Valentine: The Art of Jeffry Mitchell".