Jill Lion - Sculptor

It was a very pleasant trip to University of Maryland, College Park, for the NASA AISR PI Workshop, from Oct. 2 to 5. The University Conference Center and Inn houses a great collection of artwork. Yesterday, the 5th was the Baltimore based sculptor Jill Lion's opening exhibit at the gallary in the conference center. Luckily, I met the artist in person after the Workshop was concluded. Lion is a very nice lady and she gave me helpful suggestions to do sculptures. "Sculpture is to relieve the objects inside the stone," she said. "You need a ventilation system in your studio." We then talked details about materials and processes. Her husband, a very nice gentleman joined the conversation and gave insightful comments.

Along the hallway, there were four pieces of sculptures that features female breasts. "Why did you create three breasts in each piece?" I asked Lion. She replied, "I have three sisters who had lumps in their breasts. These sculptures represent the deformation as the cancer progress...such as bioposy" I was shocked and speechless for a while. "Do you feel a bit of relief while you doing the sculptures?" I asked. "Yes!" she replied.

"Carving stone has given me the chance to express strong emotions without words. I work alone; getting dirty and making messes confirm my energy," Lion said.