New Year, New Inspiration

I have been doing a lot of thinking about what direction I want my work to move in this year, and I think I would like to again consider the figure and explore it as a form of narrative. I started looking through the book "The Figure in Clay: Contemporary Sculpting Techniques by Master Artists" and discovered a great resource for different building techniques and unique conceptual clay sculptures:
                                     
I am particularly interested in three artist: Arthur Gonzalez, Akio Takamori, and Adrian Arleo.
Arthur Gonzalez combines ceramics and found found objects to create mysterious figures that bring up personal concerns and world issues. http://www.ceramicsnow.org/arthurgonzalez
                 
Akio Takamori creates porcelain sculptures inspired by his Japanese heritage.
             
Adrian Arleo's sculptures often blend together human and animal characteristics. I specifically love the textured surfaces that she adds to her figures:
         
As I move forward, I am thinking about how to create art that is meaningful and important to me, and what human or personal concerns I might express through my work.