Alongside his acclaimed music career, TONY FURTADO is an accomplished visual artist who creates striking, hand-sculpted ceramic and mixed-media sculptures. Working out of his studio in Portland, Oregon, he has balanced his passions for acoustic music and clay sculpture for most of his life.

MEDITATION AND BALANCE: Furtado views his time working with wet clay as a meditative escape from the stresses of the music industry. He often notes that his two creative outlets — music and sculpture — feed into and support one another.

THE TACTILE EXPERIENCE: He is drawn to the malleability and squishy nature of wet clay, allowing him to instinctively follow the emotion of the moment rather than adhering strictly to rigid blueprints.

NATURE AND WILDLIFE: Much of his sculptural work features animals and wildlife, ranging from birds (like crows) and terrestrial animals (such as otters, meerkats, and cats) to marine life.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: Many of his pieces reflect humankind’s complex relationship with and impact on the natural world, capturing a tension between what is fierce and fragile, or what survives and surrenders. Using negative space, structural patterns, and segmented designs, he frequently explores concepts of dissolution, resilience, and species disappearing.

MIXED MEDIA AND FINISHES: While his pieces are primarily ceramic-based (often built using stoneware clay), Furtado frequently incorporates mixed-media elements, including steel bases and organic materials like bamboo or cheesecloth that burn away in the kiln to leave behind warped, distressed textures.

METALLIC COATINGS: A signature finish of his work involves coating the fired ceramic with a specialized mixture of polymer resin, gypsum, and metal dust, such as iron or copper. He often oxidizes these surfaces to create a rough, rustic, weathered look, then hand-polishes the high points with sculpture wax to make the intricate details stand out against the dark, dry background.