Artist Profile:
     Carole Higuera-Fisher

Deep roots in Tucson and a passion for our amazing desert surrounding us has contributed to the artist I have become. Both sides of my family have been here for over 130 years and the cultural aspects of that history are subtlety incorporated into my ceramics.

Roadside shrines and house altars are beautiful and the reverence and emotion these memorials emit and the deaths of both of my parents have moved me to develop my rendition of personal shrines. I have been building them since 1997. It is very gratifying creating sanctuaries and niches for someone wanting a way to memorialize a loved one. My folky renditions of Tucson’s desert cactus, whimsical animals and a mishmash of creative innovation are joyful additions to my home and others. A kiln loaded with beautiful pieces made from the imagination make for the best eye candy when opened at the end of a final firing.

My love of art developed at a very young age with enthusiastic encouragement from my parents. Crayons and pencils created numerous pictures of horses, family faces, and neighbors’ homes. My mom broadened my creative endeavors by placing me in a clay art class located near the Tucson Museum of Art. Pinch pots, coils, and lopsided bowls brought oohs and ahh from one of my biggest fans. In my adult life, the pencil again became my focus as a drafter and electrical designer for a large Architectural and Engineering firm for many years until what to me was the special opportunity to become a volunteer art teacher at my children’s elementary school. It was great fun and helped promote the path that led me to the art I create today. I give gratitude to ceramic Professor Hiro Tashima and ceramic artist and friend Chris Bubany, their mentorship and encouragement has steered me on a course of stretching my creative approach with clay. My family has always given the support and nudges needed to encourage growth and to take chances. It takes courage and ego mixed with lots of patience to be an artist. It is very satisfying. “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time," these words from Thomas Merton are the truth of why I enjoy what I do as an artist.

My ceramic art is at Leaping Lizard Gallery, 6530 E. Tanque Verde located on Tucson’s east side.

Currently on display at Tohono Chul’s Sonoran Stories Art exhibit is a piece I made called Saguaro Harvest which is the simple love between dove and saguaro. Dove is one of the saguaro’s pollinators and reaps the benefits of the nutritious seeds in the springtime of nest building and egg laying.

I will also be selling at the Chris Bubany Holiday Marketplace at Harlow Gardens the first weekend of November.