Jennifer Rego of Soco Art Labs captured this time lapse video of me assembling my 81% Me Too sculpture (about 2 hours of assembly encapsulated in 29 seconds).
Artist Talk | You Are Invited
You’re invited to my Artist Talk!
I’ll introduce you to my Opinionated Stoneware, share my inspirations and process, and welcome your questions, comments, and observations.
Sunday April 26, 2026 – 3 to 4-4:30-ish pm Eastern
In-person at Soco Art Labs: 418 Quequechan St, 2nd Floor, Fall River MA
Light refreshments will be served – come hang out with me – I’d love to see you!
or by Zoom (Meeting ID 856 6931 1644):
Wind in my sails | Mass Cultural Council Grant
I am thrilled to have learned that I’ve been selected as a recipient of one of the 2026 Mass Cultural Council Grants for Creative Individuals. I’m also feeling grateful that my home state of Massachusetts (even in these turbulent times where funding is getting slashed left and right) still values the importance of creative expression.
Especially in these times we need artists more than ever — to be empowered, bold, creative, unrelenting voices of truth and defiant self-expression. This has put wind back into my gasping-for-air sails, and much more Opinionated Stoneware will be on its way.
Stickers and Buttons (because, why the fuck not?)
NEW – sticker and button designs can be found in my StickerMule Shop. I’ll add more in the future. The No Boys Will Be Boys 3″ stickers ($3) and 1.5″ buttons ($2) are also available in-person at Soco Art Labs.
A little light from The New Bedford Light
Don Wilkinson, in his review in The New Bedford Light, had this to say: “‘Pink in Ashes’ and ‘Social Justice’ are reminders that all creatives, be they performing, visual or literary artists, have tools at hand, be they guitars, paintbrushes or words. Take arms.” Bravo Don!
Shining a light on the Opinionated Stoneware in the GalleryX Social Justice show he shared:
“Ceramicist Kerry Cudmore addresses a number of hot topic issues including mental health and communication within relationships. Her “Bowl of Misogyny” is a shallow fleshy-pink dish into which a series of insulting words are stamped: unhinged, ditz, crazy, nag, feminazi … and worse.
Her large-scale hanging work of metal and stoneware is called “81% Me Too.” Eighty-one tiny hands are suspended from cords, signifying the percentage of women nationwide that reported being the victim of sexual assault or harassment in their lifetime, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.”
Social Justice at GalleryX
I’m thrilled that Opinionated Stoneware is included in the Social Justice themed show at GalleryX in New Bedford, MA.
“Be sure to stop in this month for a very apt exhibition, Social Justice, that seeks to commemorate the ongoing fight for equality, human rights, and social justice for all beings. Curated by photographer, activist, and Gallery X member, David Walega, Social Justice features over 65 works by 36 local, regional, and national artists.
Gallery X is open Wednesdays through Fridays from 11am-4pm and Saturdays/Sundays 12-4pm.
All exhibitions are free and open to the public.
The exhibition will be on view through March 8.”
Opinionated Stoneware at Deblois Gallery
I’m using clay to explore social themes: misogyny, sexual harassment and misconduct*, abortion rights, bodily autonomy, and incongruity and contradiction—calling attention to the seriousness and ridiculousness—between what we think and feel versus what we’re willing to share with others. Visually representing what should be obvious.
My Opinionated Stoneware is included in the “Out of the Ordinary” show at Deblois Gallery during October, and I’d love to see you there.
Kerry Cudmore, from Westport, Massachusetts, gets in your face with small stoneware sculptures containing written socio-political activist messages. Look over her “map” of the United States, for instance, to see how she has captured the tenor of our time.
-John Pantalone, “Newport This Week”
Visit my Gallery page for full details about this work. Here’s a preview …
“Veneer” detail
“81% Me Too” detail
“Unites States of Bodily Autonomy” detail
“Look but don’t touch —Pill Box”
“Bowl of Misogyny”
“Relationships — Contradiction Tray”
“How do I really feel? — Contradiction Tray”
“Mental Wellness — Contradiction Tray”
“81% Me Too pin/pendants”
*Did you know?
Me Too is not just about rape.
What is Me Too?
“A global social movement that seeks to expose and prevent sexual harassment and assault, especially against women, by raising awareness and holding perpetrators to account …”
—New Oxford American Dictionary
“A social movement and awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.
The phrase ‘Me Too’ was initially used in this context on social media in 2006, on Myspace, by sexual assault survivor and activist Tarana Burke.
The hashtag #MeToo was used starting in 2017 as a way to draw attention to the magnitude of the problem.
‘Me Too’ is meant to empower those who have been sexually assaulted through empathy, solidarity and strength in numbers, by visibly demonstrating how many have experienced sexual assault and harassment …”
—Wikipedia
81% Me Too
It began in the Newport Art Museum’s Coleman Center for Creative Studies.
I usually enter the studio knowing what I’m working on; a project is underway, and I have a sense of the work at hand. This time, it’s an exploration.
The journey began with a cookie cutter and the remembrance of an article read and related-to. It resulted in a project that visually represents a statistic.
81% of women have experienced sexual harassment or misconduct. 100 hands. 81 hands proclaiming “Me Too,” my hand among them …
Its physical form—like a chandelier. Its purpose—to illuminate.
A catalyst for reflection, conversation, and education. Bringing awareness to this persistent, unresolved problem.
It should travel; illuminating this issue wherever it is displayed. Do you have a place where it can visit and do its work? Get in touch.
NEWS:
• Included in NOW‘s Art-a-Thon 2022.
Incongruity and Contradiction
Exploring themes of incongruity and contradiction—calling attention to the seriousness and ridiculousness—between what we think and feel versus what we’re willing to share with others. Ceramics: communicating themes of the un-communicated.
At the DeBlois Gallery October 3-25, 2020.
