To collectors of internationally acclaimed ceramic artist Lisa Naples’ new work, it should come as no surprise that there are two large pachysandra plants hanging in her Doylestown studio.

Their vibrant and lush vines reach deep over her worktable, then shoot up and sprout across the ceiling within a crow’s beak of the opposite wall.

Nor should it be surprising their containers look like birds’ nests. Nor that she had been a literature major.

Growth, imagery of nests and storytelling play important roles in Naples’ art today. With her now familiar friend, the crow as her muse, she made a vow not to repeat any of her old work or ways of thinking. Keeping an open mind and listening to her inner self are her new mantras.

What emerge are two different, yet organically – even spiritually – connected art forms: functional pottery and figurative sculpture. Her new pottery tells a story or offers the elements for problem solving. Even here, she continues to evolve, reserving her more evocative and elaborate storytelling for her figurative sculptures, and has begun creating pottery in simpler designs, softer hues and a satin, porcelain-like finish.

Where her earlier, highly decorative functional pottery could be content to be admired from afar, her latest pottery shouts to be touched and for daily use. There’s a tactile quality that erupts like a bubble in a stream, connecting you to the clay, yet keeping its artistic appeal.

Through her figurative sculpture Naples tells stories that are timeless and universal. Using the human form, as well as animal and nature images, she delves deep into the human condition. For example, in “Outside In,” a little girl has a fake bird resting on her shoulder. Unknown to her, a ‘real’ bird lives inside her. Explaining, Naples says, “You look outside of yourself for answers, but they’re inside of you. You just don’t know you know.” Keeping open is key, she says.

For these art pieces, Naples often starts with a found object. Once a story has formed that she wants to tell, Naples builds the scenario with her clay creations.

Naples’ figurative sculpture will be featured at the James A. Michener Art Museum in the exhibition “Contemporary Folklore” beginning Feb. 27 and running through May 30.

You can preview some of Naples’ exhibiting art work at her studio, 2321 Lower State Road in Doylestown by appointment, or online at www.lisanaples.com.

Article by Diana Cercone, who can be reached at dcercone1@verizon.net.