The Red Lodge Clay Center has got many lovelies up for sale on their website. Gorgeous works by some amazing artists.
Jenny Mendes
Amelia Stamps
Renee Brown
You all know I’m a huge fan of figurative work, especially those with social commentary so I was thrilled to find the work of Cecile Kizlik show up in my email inbox. Enjoy!
Bio: Cecile Kizlik was trained as a bookbinder and is now freelancing DTP jobs. She lives and works in France. She took up ceramics 3 years ago, and fell in love. She used to draw, but now makes figurines. She also makes functional objects which we’ll hopefully get to see someday here on musing as well.
Statement:
I make figurines out of stoneware clay. I am interested in social and identity issues. My work focuses on the way bodies and clothes give something away of someone’s personality. They act as telltale signs – sometimes misleading – of what happened to us, of our wealth, of our attempts to present or hide ourselves, of our aspirations…My sources of inspiration are archetypal characters i might see in films, books etc… as well as everyday people. I have a special interest in people who have striking features or a bold dress sense, characters with an awkward, quirky side to them. Visually, my main influences are comic books aesthetics and folk arts.
Here’s the address of the blog featuring her work: http://cecile-kizlik.blogspot.com/
Just a quick sneak peek of some work in progress. I’ve got 3 shows in the next year with my figurative work so I’m madly working away.
You might also note how in the background of my studio my husband is quietly taking over more and more space working on his custom bikes…time for an extension to the studio, but whose got that kind of money?! Oh well, at least I have company.
Another day and another batch of lovely pots, this time the fantastic work of Shana Salaff – enjoy!
Short Statement:
My work runs the gamut between traditional or historically significant forms and inspirations and a more postmodern pastiche of style, colors, and decorative patterns. I see the items that I make as being useful “jewels” – shiny, small in stature, and made with as much care as possible. I love beauty and elegance as much as quirkiness and playfulness, and my vessels seek to allow the user to share my passions. Decoration versus content, beauty versus pragmatism; these are the dialectics that inform my work.
Bio:
I recently received my MFA from California State University, Fullerton, where I taught Ceramics and Three-dimensional Design as a graduate assistant teacher. Originally from Toronto, I received a diploma from the School of Craft and Design at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, in 1995. I received a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1998. I have also worked as a studio potter for 7 years, running Wareshana Pottery in Halifax. I am currently doing a residency at Art 342 in Fort Collins, Colorado.
I’m loving the fact that there are lots of good ole Canadian entries again for Artist of the day; mind you we are a bit heavy on north american content – whats up with that? Hmmm I wonder…how to get the rest of you guys – that i know are reading the blog – more involved…a new years resolution for me in the works i reckon…Anyhow feast your eyes on today’s lovely offerings:
“Heather Braun-Dahl is a ceramic artist and painter living and working in Vancouver, BC. After having graduated from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in 2001 and then starting a family, Heather launched her dahlhaus art studios website in 2007 featuring her ceramics and paintings under one ‘roof’.”
“My current ceramics is interested in form being functional and minimal, but being the backdrop to a glazing style that strongly references my interest in painting. I started the Poppy series of pots when I revisited an abstract painting of mine from a few years back- the pod-like shapes with stems could easily translate to a modern poppy design and on my simple, wheel-thrown forms the colours and design seemed to catch people’s eye!”
website: www.dahlhausart.com
shop: www.dahlhausart.bigcartel.com
etsy: www.dahlhaus.etsy.com
contact: [email protected]
I know recently done a post about the centennial at Greenwich House Pottery, but I just wanted to put it on your radar again as there are so many amazing activities, exhibitions, talks, you name it, going on.
Greenwich House Announces Centennial Celebration “100 Years of Clay” to Feature Exhibitions, Studio Sales, Soirees, Community Open Houses, Field Trips, and Classes ———————————————————————————————————————————– Greenwich House Pottery (GHP) has unveiled its plans for its much-anticipated Centennial, “100 Years of Clay,” a true smorgasbord for pottery enthusiasts and newcomers alike. The hope is to reach well beyond the traditional boundaries of those affiliated with the ceramics world, and to connect with people of Greenwich Village and the greater New York community. Having begun in September 2009, “100 Years of Clay” will showcase some of the world’s most noted ceramic artists, play host to open houses and studio sales, offer a full roster of classes and workshops, and–most importantly–celebrate ceramics, New York City, and Greenwich House Pottery as an institution. “This Centennial is a thank you, from Greenwich House to the Greenwich Village community and beyond,” said Sarah Archer, director of Greenwich House Pottery. “Rarely has such a rich symbiosis existed between an arts institution and the community that nurtured it. Indeed, we strongly believe that Greenwich House Pottery has helped shape the community, just as we have been shaped by it.”
Over the last century, GHP has pioneered the field of ceramics in New York City offering courses in hand building, wheel-throwing, photo-ceramics, ceramic jewelry, glaze chemistry, kiln classes and sculpture, as well as classes for children and seniors. Greenwich House, the parent organization of GHP, was founded in 1902 by Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch and other social reformers. Its mission was to improve the living conditions among the predominately immigrant population in Greenwich Village, at that time New York’s most congested neighborhood. Seven years later, Greenwich House Pottery was founded and extended that mission. While the audience may have changed throughout the years GHP has continued to provide a rich, tactile experience in the face of rampant mechanization, and an individuated product in the face of encroaching uniformity.
“Greenwich House Pottery has added to New York’s cultural tapestry in so many ways over the last century,” says Sarah Archer, Director of Development and Communications at Greenwich House. “We look forward to a year’s worth of celebration, the opportunity to reach out to legions of new pottery enthusiasts, and the second one hundred years of GHP.”
Greenwich House Pottery Located at 16 Jones Street, Greenwich House Pottery has been introducing New Yorkers to clay since 1909, and over the years has become an internationally recognized center for ceramics. It features diverse programs, classes, exhibitions, residencies, community outreach and special events. Greenwich House Pottery is a program of Greenwich House Inc., a settlement house founded in 1902 by Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch.
Greenwich House Pottery maintains an ongoing exhibition series in the Jane Hartsook Gallery. The Jane Hartsook Gallery and Storefront Gallery are committed to supporting both emerging and established ceramic artists, and to the educational mission of making, exhibiting, and learning from contemporary ceramics.
About Greenwich House:
Located at 27 Barrow Street, Greenwich House offers a wide array of programs designed to enrich the lives of New Yorkers, including a Music School (46 Barrow Street), nursery and Preschool programs, health care and services for people living with HIV/AIDS, and Senior services.
