Clay - A Tantalizing Medium

While doing some freelance work up in snowy Toronto this past January, my friend and colleague, artist Kelly Houghton, and I took a ceramics class at the Gardiner Museum. 

Finger relief vessels that I made. Photo by K. Houghton.

Working with clay. Photo by K. Houghton.

Kelly and her textured vase.

Close-up of Kelly's work. Photo by K. Houghton.

And here are my cups after the clay was fired:

I wanted the vessel to be sort of an extension of the hand when held.  I was going to mold a lip print into the edge of the vessel but I didn't get the effect I was looking for, so nixed that.  I like how the finished work gives the illusion of being soft and squished when held with my fingers in their relief cavities.    

I think this class might have been the first time I've worked with clay, at least from what I can recall (perhaps in art school although no memory of it stands out).  I enjoyed it immensely; I especially got lost in smoothing the clay, an act which lulled me even more than drawing repetitive lines.     

Upcoming group show at Soho20 Gallery.  I won't be showing work in this exhibit but somehow Elizabeth Bisbing and I ended up in the postcard image - ha!  Yes, well, come see it when it opens.

Tote Sale Fundraiser

EKG Tote - front

EKG Tote - back

I decorated this Soho20 tote bag as part of a fall/winter fundraiser for the gallery.  I  drew and painted directly on the canvas tote using acrylic paint and fabric markers.  Visit the gallery's Facebook page to see more totes decorated by Soho20 artists - there are bags with prints, original paintings, print transfer and original drawings.  All are one-of-a-kind.  We're working on creating an online shop but if you're interested in buying one in the meantime, contact the gallery directly at soho20@verizon.net or at 212-367-8994.  

Savoir-Faire 2010!

Soho20 is hosting its second annual performance series!  From November 5 - 20, you can visit the gallery to watch and participate in exciting performative works by women artists.   Click here to view the schedule and here to learn more and help support the series via Kickstarter.  

Calling All Artists - 2011 Soho20 Studio Residency Program!!!

Deadline to apply is November 20th.  Click here for details and to apply.

"Between the lines" at Soho20

Photos from Soho20 Gallery's 2010 member group exhibition, Between the lines, which closed on October 2.  I was very excited to have exhibited work with this prestigious group of artists.

Work by (L-R) Darla Bjork and Martha Edelheit

(L-R): Francine LeClercq, Lannie Hart and Darla Bjork

(L-R): Carla Hernandez, Susan Hockaday and Eve Ingalls

Foreground: Kathy Stark; background: Anne McKeown

Work by Aphrodite Desiree Navab

L-R: Anne McKeown, Mariangeles Soto-Diaz, Gayle Tanaka and Lannie Hart

L-R: Gayle Tanaka, Lannie Hart and Aphrodite Desiree Navab

Paintings on center wall by Diane Churchill; background: Eve Ingalls; foreground: Lannie Hart

L-R: Anne McKeown and Mariangeles Soto-Diaz

Foreground: Anne McKeown; center: Carla Hernandez; back: Darla Bjork

Closer images of my two pieces in the show:

Molten (I come when you call), 2010

acrylic and pencil on packaging paper

48 x 30 in.

Molten (I come when you call), 2010 - detail

Molten (I come when you call), 2010 - detail

Can Barely Contain Myself, 2010

mixed media assemblage with cut up postcards from my "Exploding Heart" exhibition

9 x 12 in.

This photo of me was taken in '97 or '98 by Jennifer Poole, a fellow visual art student at Rutgers University (and my next door neighbor in the Jameson dorms on Douglass campus).  I recall her asking me to sit for this portrait, taken from the opposite side of plastic sheeting, for a project that she was working on in which she asked every sitter to write down their biggest regret (mine was that I did not say "I love you" to my father before he passed away).  I like the dreamy quality of this image - it has a blurry affect almost like seeing through eyes welled up with tears.  It also makes me think of a vintage photo, or of how some memories appear fuzzy in the mind.  

Speaking of regrets, I lost touch with Jennifer after we graduated.  I ran into her once in Chelsea but don't know why I didn't do a better job of following up with that encounter.  I really enjoyed knowing her when we were in school and her work always impressed me.  Jennifer, if you by chance Google your name and this blog post comes up, drop me a note!