A little about Madgiart

My name is Maddie Giardina. I am an artist who loves to explore all different mediums, especially clay.

I have attended California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California, received my BFA in Ceramics and Glass from Tyler School of Art (Temple University), went to Rowan University for a Post­-Baccalaureate in Art Education as well as graduate studies at Seton Hall University. I have studied under great ceramicists such as Bob Winokur and Jeff Oestreich, trained in painting with Susan Moore, as well as have had the great opportunity to blow glass with Dale Chihuly.

I love clay, glass, painting, photography, wood, metal .... and the list goes on. My mind explodes with ideas when I go to thrift stores or see objects laying on the ground randomly. I love old wood, rusty metal parts, broken shards of glass and paints that shimmer. I try to look at objects ­ not for what they were, but for what they could be. I embrace textures and visualizing common objects in a new light. I especially love grabbing colors of paint on a brush and watching how the colors mingle with each other to create the illusions of objects.

From the beginning, I have always created in one way or another with a foundation of "playing with junk". My mother would bring home boxes of broken Christmas ornaments and beaded garlands and things that could no longer be sold in my Uncle´s store, because they were "trash". I would take the box, like a child getting a big box of mixed candies, and begin to tear all the pieces apart. I would explore how they would fit with other pieces and find ways to create interesting compositions and sculptures. My mother encouraged the "mess" and so, began, my love for creativity. Now, they call this "STEAM" education! Hence, I teach this type of learning during the school year in a Catholic School in New Jersey as well as photography at Atlantic Cape Community College.

My daughter, Victoria Shea Giardina, also has the love of art that I hold. She is attending ACCC, focusing on her artistic talents and will be working with me in in the studio.

Stop in and meet us!