by Carole Epp | Mar 4, 2017 | call for entry, emerging artist, job posting, monday morning eye candy, movie day, residency opportunity, technical tuesday
“As
a maker I rely on the central role of utilitarian objects as vehicles
for nourishment. This role entwines the object in a complex relationship
between human and nature. Eating is the most profound enactment of our
connection to nature, and what we eat determines how the whole planet is
used.
I
use utilitarian ceramic objects as a conduit to speak further about
connections and relationships between human beings and the rest of the
natural world. This complex intricate network creates intersections
between culture, ethics, commerce, history, ritual, community and
environment and provides a vast pool from which to be inspired for a
lifetime.
Current
work focuses on the idea of nature and thereby food as sacred. Formal
elements and surface treatments often reference nature or sacred
geometry, which has its roots in the study of nature and the
mathematical principles which govern it. There is direct reference to
architectural and decorative elements of sacred spaces such as mosques,
churches or temples. All of these references seek to create the same
reverence for nature and food as one would have within a sacred space.
If we honored and revered nature as sacred, acts of growing, preparing
and consuming food would thus be ritual.
The
very nature wood firing embodies and reaffirms the ideas of nature,
environment, history, ritual and community held within the work. The
process incorporates experimentation, skillfulness, knowledge and an
intimacy over time. I use wood firing as a way to create natural,
organic surfaces. The atmospheric effects often blur and obscure
intended surface work which mimics the distance and obscurity found in
the connections we have with our nourishment today.” – Amanda Bury
by Carole Epp | Mar 3, 2017 | Uncategorized
Join us on April 21-23, 2017 at the Morean Center for Clay.
420 22nd St S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712.
Presentations from Brice Dyer, Melissa Mencini, Jeremy Randall, and Lindsay Scypta.
Exploring a wide range of forming and surface treatments, our
presenters will incorporate design elements in the early construction
stage, as well as at the leather hard stage and beyond. And as always,
questions are encouraged thorughout the presentations. While each artist
has their own distinct style, the techniques demonstrated can be
adapted for your personal aesthetic and help take your ceramic expertise
to the next level! View the schedule!
Special thanks to our sponsors: Amaco-Brent, Mayco, Shimpo & Highwater Clays of Florida!
Are you a student? Apply for a scholarship to attend this workshop! Due by March 17. Download application (PDF) or (Word). Questions? Email Adriane Cesa.
Full details here.
by Carole Epp | Mar 2, 2017 | Uncategorized
Date & Time:
Jul 10 – 21, 2017
10:00am – 4:00pm
Fee:
$750 + $100 materials
Instructor:
Walter Ostrom, CM and Jordan McDonald
In this intensive two-week workshop, students will be pushed to
advance their technical and conceptual understanding of pottery. The
course will revolve around projects designed to explore alternative
strategies and approaches. Slide lectures and discussions will present
unconventional perspectives and insights from ceramics history
encompassing contemporary practice. Demonstrations will include bizarre
throwing and hand-building techniques, slips and glazes. This course is
an opportunity for one-on-one interaction relative to your work and
personal development. To provide some respite from the drudging and
toiling in the studio, there will be short field trips in the area to
view ceramic studios and collections. High octane glaze testing and
surface exploration are also a part of this course. Prior clay
experience is required.
Materials:
Students should bring the following:
- Your ceramic tool kit
- Apron & towel
- Notebook
About Walter Ostrom, CM and Jordan McDonald:
Walter Ostrom, CM
Emeritus Professor Ceramics NSCAD
Walter Ostrom, C.M. was recently appointed Professor Emeritus of
Ceramics at NSCAD University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. In1997, he
was awarded an Honorary Professorship at the Jingdezhen Ceramics
Institute in Jingdezhen, Jianxi Province, People’s Republic of China. An
outstanding educator, he is committed to Craft practice and theory.
Walter is regarded internationally and in Canada as a technical and
academic expert in low-fire maiolica, an ancient ceramic technique that
he has personally tailored through innovations and decorative methods to
reflect the geography of the places where he has lived, whether Nova
Scotia or the Far East. His body of work has developed across many
aspects of ceramics in the span of a nearly 50-year career, from
experiments in high conceptualism in the 1970s to a contemporary focus
on the exploration of the vast history, hybridization and social
foundation of ceramics.
He has extensively exhibited and lectured internationally. His work
has appeared in numerous books and periodicals. His work has been
collected by many public collections, including the Museum of
Civilization, Ottawa, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
On February 5th, 2007, he was invested into the Order of Canada. In
November 2008 he was given the Portia White Award in recognition of his
leading contribution to the arts in Nova Scotia. In 2014 he was
appointed a Regis Master at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN.
Jordan McDonald
Jordan McDonald is currently a Resident Artist at The Clay Studio in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jordan grew up in the suburbs of Toronto
where he first studied ceramics at Sheridan College in Oakville,
Ontario. He received his BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and
Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2009. He then attended the New York
State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, New York,
where he received his MFA in 2011.
Among other awards and recognition, in 2014 Jordan was nominated for
the RBC Emerging Artist Award, and received the Recommendation Prize at
the Taiwan Ceramic Biennial in 2016. His work can be found in noteworthy
private and public collections, including the Gardiner Museum in
Toronto and the Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.
Jordan is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Maryland Institute
College of Art (MICA). He has also taught ceramics at the Tyler School
of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia and the Nova Scotia College of
Art and Design in Halifax.
http://www.jordanmcdonaldceramics.com
www.lunenburgarts.org/programs/ceramics-alternative-strategies/
by Carole Epp | Feb 28, 2017 | Uncategorized
Med denne udstilling er der lagt op til et
sceneskift af de helt store på CLAY. Kunstnergruppen VERSUS skaber en
totalinstallation, der iscenesætter deres keramiske objekter i ét
sammenhængende kunstværk. Gennem scenografi og arbejde med lys og skygge
vil publikum blive inviteret ind i et univers, der understreger
objekternes magiske karakter, og giver beskueren en flerdimensionel
oplevelse.
En talisman er en ”magisk genstand”, som
tillægges evnen til at gøre noget godt for den, der bærer den. De har
været brugt i religiøse eller ceremonielle sammenhænge langt tilbage i
menneskehedens historien – og i keramikkens. Faktisk regner man den
ældste kendte keramiske genstand i verden, en ca. 26.000 år gammel
Venusfigurine, for at have været en talisman for frugtbarhed.
Ideen om, at ting kan have særlige egenskaber,
trives også i dag, f.eks. når man har en lykkemønt i kommodeskuffen, et
særligt vedhæng til halskæden, en god sten i lommen eller et mantra, der
messes for at holde styr på den mentale balance.
Kunstnergruppen VERSUS vil med udstillingen
præsentere et bud på en moderne talisman i en keramisk kontekst og
derigennem bringe spørgsmålet om tro og irrationalitet ind i vores
nutidige, rationelle tænkning.
VERSUS består af Ane Fabricius Christiansen, Camille Rishøj Nielsen, Lea Mi Engholm, Mariko Wada og Sissel Wathne.
(via google translate) This exhibition is set for a scene change of the greats in the CLAY. The artist group VERSUS creates a total installation that stages their ceramic objects in one continuous piece of art. Through set design and work with light and shadow, the audience will be invited into a universe that emphasizes the objects’ magical character, and gives the viewer a multidimensional experience.
A talisman is a “magic object” conferred the ability to do something good for the one who wears it. They have been used for religious or ceremonial contexts far back in human history – and in ceramics. In fact, it is estimated the oldest known ceramic object in the world, approximately 26,000 years old Venus figurines, for having been a talisman for fertility.
The idea that things may have special properties that thrive even today, for example. when you have a lucky coin in the dresser drawer, a special pendant necklace, a good stone in your pocket or a mantra that messes to keep track of the mental balance.
The artist group VERSUS will the exhibition present a proposal for a modern talisman in a ceramic context and thus bring the issue of faith and irrationality into our contemporary, rational thinking.
VERSUS consists of Anne Fabricius Christiansen, Camille Rishøj Nielsen, Lea Mi Engholm, Mariko Wada and Sissel Wathne.
claymuseum.dk/udstilling/talisman-magiske-objekter/
CLAY
KERAMIKMUSEUM
DANMARK
Grimmerhus
Kongebrovej 42
DK-5500 Middelfart
+45 6441 4798
[email protected]
