Gathering

July 7-23 2023

I struggled with the right descriptions for these installations, but settled on calling them ‘Gatherings’.

They are not holy vestiges ( shrines) or piles of conical stones ( cairns); and while the  word assemblage seemed to pretentious, the meaning a collection of exquisite memorable, small pieces of art pieces and natural finds was so appropriate.

My first influence was from the wayside shrines often found in the French countryside, but these  (shrines ) were predominantly religious  and despite the crosses that I often use in my work (which has no sacred meaning to me).  I was more intrigued and influenced by any found or made objects that resonated with me from a purely aesthetic vision. Again, as always I was influenced by the juxtaposition of gathering anything that fascinated me and the combination of hard and soft textures. The concrete and seagrass form, the natural delicate feathers, shells, small pieces of bark, leaves and floral embellishments; translucent images, small clay and metal adornments. Anything and everything that resonated with me, that made me gasp in awe, that made me deferential and humbled by the beauty of nature …a religion in itself

Shelter

April 2^nd 2023

As I wove the vines over the past two months for the roof of ‘Shelter ‘I was reminded of Abraham Maslows ‘Hierrarchy of Basic Needs’.

Maslow identified our basic needs (our psychological needs) as food, drink, shelter, clothes and warmth.

He saw these basic needs as paramount as our survival depends on them and until they are fulfilled we cannot progress to higher needs that enable us as individuals to eventually reach our full potential.

Another essential basic need Maslow identified is our need for safety and shelter; more than a resting place all creatures and individuals need shelter.

It is this later fundamental basic need that this installation addresses.

When you look at Maslow’s table of needs it reminds us of how here in the Western World the majority of us have most of our lower basic needs met ….food, water, shelter, security and safety. But do we?

What of the displaced refugees (we bear witness to this daily and the western world either ignores it or enables it ) the homeless and the millions and millions denied the most basic needs one of which is shelter.

Here in my adopted country we see an escalating number of people without shelter…the homeless which makes their security and safety precarious.

These people and the refugees displaced around the world are people who are denied their definitive basic needs and the opportunity to attempt to reach their full potential let alone conceive it.

How do we endorse this, how do we reconcile this as fellow humans?

Process :The Start

Dec 2022

If there is some notion here that my process involves me going into my studio and creating a piece of art and finishing it in a seamless progression as a purely inspirational visionary way this is not the case. And if the latter is the case it is in the fleeting moments between the pure practicality of working with clay and metal and willow. The drying of the clay in incremental stages to form it , the stages between the soaking of the willow or gathering vines and using them before they are to dry and brittle. The cutting of the metal, the oxidizing , the tools , the chemicals, the kiln times , the preparation and weather patterns for pit firing the reliance on nature for gathering vines. My process is piecemeal and spasmodic and all the preparation before I assemble the piece (and here get lost in the sheer moments when your vision has now becoming a reality) is backed back by hours , days and weeks of often mundane groundwork and dirt and stress. Added to this is often the fragmentary frustration of the pragmatism of working on simultaneous pieces at the same time. But….then the joy the unbridled, unrestrained feeling of being invincible when I assemble all the pieces and I’m lost in the sheer intuitive pleasure of how I create and anything and everything is possible.

While I have been absent for a while on keeping up with my entries on this page, this is not the case in my art practice. It’s a tardy excuse, but I get so enmeshed in my daily practice that weeks and months go by with little heed to posting on my progress. That being said, I frequently journal my process and it is this journaling  I will be sharing ( even though they are retroactive ) in the next few entries.  Most of the journal entries I will be sharing over the next few weeks  are from the basis of  exhibition I had in August 2023 ‘Sturm and Drang ‘

The installations in this body of work were conceptualized and completed over a period of a year in my studio on Hornby Island and it’s this magical place that influences and inspires me daily.

On a final noted I will head my entries with the dated posted, but also for clarity of the progress of the year in question add the original date from the hard copy of the journal that accompanied this exhibition.

Not quite a cone…. ..simple cane  basket perfect for lightweight storage or dried foliage

No matter how small your gathering is this Christmas ….fill it with memories past and present

Now I’ve added  a church the  historical classification in England makes this a village !!!!

(Each ceramic pit-fired house or church comes with it’s own battery operated tea-light)

I’m still amazed at myself …first that I moved away from my standard white ( I love this grey) and second that I actually made some cups!

Please contact me if you need sizes, prices or delivery options

Its been a long time since I shared anything on my journal page and while I often reflect on my process ( which is very important to me ) I wanted to share this ….

So here goes…..

On March 13th and the days following, as Canada( like the rest of the world ) started to close its borders, paused its economic impetus, told travelers to return home and asked everyone to self- isolate, the world as we knew it changed and we entered a period that defined a new world order and future.

Those first days were of disbelief and like everyone my emotions ran high and I grappled with a way to make sense and to move forward with the new realities which I now faced.

As the days passed, I realised that despite the many privileges I had (a home, safety, adequate health care and food), I had to find a way to change my art practice and direction both for financial and emotional reasons. The idea quickly formed that I also wanted a way to document my daily experience and emotions and catalogue what was happening locally, in Canada and the rest of the world.

I decided to distill all of the above into a series of Vessels that as they formed, would hold everything that I was experiencing.

I journaled daily and numbered these large vessel as a reference to my corresponding practice, daily emotions and experience; which were a reflection and a direct conduit to my world view.

Isolated in my studio, I looked outwards to the world (a new world that made no sense to me) filled with sadness, human frailty and suffering, but also a world full of care, kindness and hope.

And as I looked outwards, I also moved inwards with a new self-imposed order and rhythm that filled my days as I weaved box after box of clay and shaped these large vessels ( the only restriction was the size of my kiln ) that kept me grounded.

The weeks and months passed and as my life slowly resumed some resemblance to the one I previously had (where I could open my studio and welcome people). I am left with these beautiful large vessels that hold all of my experience from a time that will define the rest of my life.

White dinnerware… a range of bowls, plates, saucers, platters and yes even spoons !

Contact me for dimensions, prices and delivery options

Special thanks to Heather at fotothenfood for food styling and these wonderful images.