Howe Now

Reading-Writing-Reviewing

2012-01-17T14:15:00.002-05:00

In September 2011 I participated in the Ceramics Annual of America. It was an odd show but a great opportunity to spend time with a good friend and meet some new ones. Ilena Finocchi's review of the show was published in the January 2012 issue of Ceramics Monthly. You can check it out on her blog here. And, while you are reading reviews please take a moment to check out the one I wrote for the February 2012 issue of Ceramics Monthly. Justin Rothshank's solo show Fatherhood ran from October 1 - November 12, 2011 at Baltimore Clayworks.

ReFraming - Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art

2011-10-26T21:27:00.001-04:00

red line, 2010

woman with yellow line, 2011

portrait in cage, 2011

old woman, 2011

pink girl, 2011 and young man/old man raku, 2011 in background

remmie, 2011 with liz, lori and chris

white woman, 2011 with liz

opening night lecture

Breaking Boundaries: A Survey of Contemporary Ceramics

2011-08-07T17:59:00.005-04:00

Breaking Boundaries: A Survey of Contemporary Ceramics

The Ann Street Gallery is delighted to present their newest exhibition, Breaking Boundaries: A Survey of Contemporary Ceramics, with an Artist Reception on Saturday, August 13, 2011 from 6:00-9:00 pm.

In this exhibition, twenty-four contemporary artists from across the country come together and offer an expansive vision of the contemporary ceramic scene. Breaking Boundaries provides a survey of ceramic works highlighting an impressive array of ceramic artists, from young emerging talents to establish artists whose work is on the cutting edge of contemporary art. On display in the exhibition are varied selections of challenging works ranging from small whimsical utilitarian vessels, large sculptural pieces to site-specific installations.

As a medium ceramic art has an ancient and rich history of cultural expression and utility. There is also something fascinating about the primitiveness of clay and its versatile creative process. Perhaps the attraction is its timelessness, or just a medium itself that seems to resound within all of us as human beings. For contemporary artists the potential of clay for expressing aesthetic ideas is enormous, varied and ever expanding. The artists work in Breaking Boundaries reflects new and exciting responses to the medium while exploiting its malleability, which makes for an infinite range of artistic expression and interpretations.

In particular, this exhibition calls attention to the existing prejudices surrounding the medium and challenges those to take a broader view of its possibilities, while elevating an awareness of contemporary ceramic arts. Works showcased offer ceramic enthusiasts new talent to explore, for visitors it is an opportunity to directly connect to the visceral tactility and joy of objects made in clay. In Breaking Boundaries viewers can explore the creativity of contemporary ceramic artists who extend the possibilities of working with clay and unconventional materials while breaking through the boundaries imposed by the art establishment.

Artist featured: Dylan Beck, Ruth Borgenicht, Maureen Burns-Bowie, Bryan Czibesz, Carole Epp, Raymond W. Gonzalez, Doug Herren, Priscilla Hollingsworth, Liz Howe, Roxanne Jackson, Calder Kamin, Debbie Kupinsky, Julie Malen, Kate Missett, Wendy Olson, Vince Palacios, Gabriel Parque, Jesse Ring, Benjamin Schulman, John Williams, Alyssa Wood, Jennifer Woodin, Jindra Viková and Matthew Ziemke.

The exhibition will be on view through Saturday, September 24.
The Ann Street Gallery is a nonprofit art gallery specializing in contemporary emerging and established artists. The gallery is located at 104 Ann Street in Newburgh, and hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00 am-5:00 pm and Friday through Saturday 11:00 am-5:00 pm.

For more information regarding Breaking Boundaries and the Ann Street Gallery, contact Virginia Walsh, Director at (845) 784-1146 or vwalsh@annstreetgallery.org, or visit www.annstreetgallery.org.
Image above: "Ass Kissing Angels" by Carole Epp

2011 NCECA Biennial Review - Ceramics Monthly Magazine

2011-05-15T21:44:00.001-04:00

If you are a Ceramics Monthly subscriber your copy should be arriving soon...if not here is a peek at my Biennial Review published this month. And, if you saw the exhibition take a minute to share your comments, opinions, agreements or disagreements with my take on the show.....enjoy!!
ps...just click on the images to download and enlarge the links!

Ceramics Monthly - For the Table Review

2011-05-03T22:30:00.012-04:00

Check out my review of For the Table, an exhibition at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia, PA, in this month's issue of Ceramics Monthly...just click on the pages to get a closer view.

Massive Portrait Project

2011-03-05T11:21:00.001-05:00

In October 2009 I came across a wonderful 'art project' called women are heroes. The scale of the undertaking was massive, the visual result beautiful and the conceptual underpinning of the project moving. This week at TED 2011 the artist responsible for that art 'action' was awarded the TED Prize. JR announced his 'Wish' in an inspiring talk about his work to date. Everyone...yes, everyone...is invited to participate in this next large scale project. Click here to take a look and join in!

Arlene Shechet

2010-12-05T00:01:00.003-05:00

The December 2010 issue of Ceramics Monthly has arrived! The conversation that Arlene Shechet and I had about her work last Fall (2009) at the Tang Museum, Skidmore College led to the feature article finally in print. Click on each of the four pages to see the entire article or pick up a copy of the magazine to check it out!

Reflections at the Met

2010-11-06T15:47:00.011-04:00

Spending time at The Metropolitan Museum of Art always unearths some welcome surprises. It is impossible to turn a corner or step into the next room without stumbling upon a new discovery. As many times as I've visited it remains fresh and unexpected. Both the ancient and the contemporary reveal themselves anew. On my quick stop there last week I came across recent finds, works by Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian and Anish Kapoor, that offered seductively vibrant visual experiences in a Minimalist format. Viewers and passers-by created restlessly fluctuating ripples within the hundreds of mirrors making up the surface of each piece. Walking by and watching reflections of others doing the same called to mind Picasso and Braque's Cubist paintings, David Hockney's photomontages, Oliver Herring's collaged c-print figures and Megumi Naitoh's complex Real Life/Virtual Life printed ceramic wall reliefs.

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Flight of the Dolphin, 2010 Mirror mosaic, reverse glass painting, traditional glue and plaster on wood

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Flight of the Dolphin (detail)

Born in Iran in 1924, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian’s career has spanned more than five decades. Incorporating traditional reverse glass painting, mirror mosaics, and principles of Islamic Geometry with a modern sensibility, her sculptures and installations defy easy categorization. She studied at Cornell University and Parsons School for Design in New York in the 1940s, where she befriended many of her contemporaries, such as Louise Nevelson, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock and, later, Frank Stella. Farmanfarmaian’s work has been exhibited widely in galleries and museums across the Middle East and internationally. She is represented by The Third Line, Dubai.

And...in the same gallery room one of my long time favorites, Anish Kapoor!
I wish i could've captured more images of people looking into this mesmerizing piece but it really was most effective when standing directly in front of it. I love that it is called 'As Yet Untitled' since as the viewers changed it offered up a unique self-portrait of each spectator/participant.

Check out my brief video:

For those unfamiliar with Anish Kapoor's work check out his beautiful website: http://www.anishkapoor.com/

Pingtong Art Museum Press Conference

2010-06-03T10:30:00.006-04:00

While in Taiwan I was asked to leave one of my sculptures for inclusion in an end of the year show of work by the Ceramics Department students and faculty. I actually didn't have any information about the show at the time but the lead professor there, Ching Yuan Chang, emailed me recently with information about a press conference he had about the show. It was a pleasant surprise to see my piece featured. The show is called Dachi 66. It runs through June 20, 2010 at the Pingdong City Art Museum in Taiwan. If you are in town stop by and check out the show!

新聞來源:壹凸新聞發佈網址

美術館「大崎六六」當代陶藝展

【記者陳宗傑屏東報導】2010年「大崎六六」當代陶藝展- 國立台南藝術大學應用

Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition Pintong Art Museum, Taiwan 藝術研究所陶瓷組聯即日起至6/20於美術館展出，名為大崎六六，源自於國立台南藝術大學校址，也是陶瓷組自1997年創組以來一貫沿用的聯展名稱，此次參展的為在學研究生或是已畢業的校友作品，件件具有個人獨特性，可見創作者對器形之美的追尋、多樣異材質的結合，極具內在思維的作品。

策展人、台南藝術大學國際交流中心主任張清淵表示，陶的作品有很多的表現形式，如化妝品中有40%是含有陶土的成分、汽車太空梭及光纖都內都有陶土的材料，此次是希望透過單一題材以作品展現出陶土的多樣性。

其中一位駐校藝術家的作品，提出對台灣文化環境第一手的探討。他將住的地方一個賣早點的太太作為人像，頭上的思考架構，用報紙反應出台灣媒體報導熱烈的現象。另件作品獲得陶藝日本美濃陶展首獎、及入選臺灣國際陶藝世界雙年展的作品，作者徐永旭將陶捏得非常薄、捏到臨界點，非常脆弱，他的作品談的是身體與作品創作過程的可能性；方伯欽的作品也被國際雜誌拿來當方面，他的陶、瓷兩個對立的器物，透過器物的存在，放在美術館或其他實用場域空間時，能發揮各項不同的功能。

參展作品有溫柔溫厚的「擬人貓」、「小情小愛」，「壁花狗」:作品中的小火光，轉達對世界和平的需求；也有訴諸土地感情的「分裂」，作品隱含對綠地演變成農地、人隨著時間不斷成長，迫切需求生活的環境，為表達的是世界劇烈轉變，需要更多的生活空間的過程。

「can you see me?」則調皮地使用將陶土使用便條紙般的方式呈現，將自己想傳達關心的話語，貼在對象看得到的地方，像冰箱、桌子及牆上；「內在服裝-雞尾酒杯套組」則關注女性外在與內在關係，透過食用陶器企圖表現出女性身體藉由溝通所傳達的期待與慾望。容器所盛裝的內部空間如同身體承載內心慾望的部分。策展人張清淵以「陶與鐵」這兩種異質的題材，創作出「錯置的母體」，以作品隱喻當代陶藝對母體文化的關注。張清淵認為，台灣當代陶藝因政治結構改變承接中國大陸，同時間二次戰後日本殖民影響，加上解嚴後，後現代藝術觀念入侵，逐漸醞釀成一個極具特色的文化體。

此次展出者包含張清淵、方柏欽、李國維、沈喬楓、林善述、林亮廷、林龍杰、吳孟錫、施佩宜、徐永旭、利庭芳、呂之蓉、張曜昌、陳俊錡、陳芳怡、盧嬿宇、鍾雯婷、顧心怡、陳芝毓、Dana Childs、Liz Howe 等人。

此外，6/5下午一時卅分於屏東美術館301研習教室「捏陶樂—動手做杯杯」，以簡單易懂的方式將「製陶方式」介紹給一般大眾，藉由動手捏陶，引發孩子們的興趣、增進孩子們的的美感經驗。本展覽策展人張清淵教授並將於6/6（日）下午2:00於屏東美術館301研習教室主講「當代陶藝面向」，歡迎民眾踴躍參加。策展人張清淵以「陶與鐵」這兩種異質的題材，

創作出「錯置的母體」。（記者陳宗傑攝）

http://news.e2.com.tw/utf-8/2010-6/142382.htm

China Ceramic Artist Magazine Showcase

2010-04-26T19:13:00.005-04:00

Within the last few months I've had the opportunity to see my name written in Chinese more than I ever could have anticipated. Upon my return from Taiwan I learned that my work had been featured in the China Ceramic Artist Magazine published by the Ceramic Art Council of China Artists Association. Many thanks to Bai Ming, one of the Chief Editors of the magazine, and also to Ben Carter who sent an extra copy of the hard to find magazine my way!!

Please be sure to check out Ben Carter's pottery (and recent MFA exhibition photos) on his blog and website.

Carter Pottery Blog

Carter Pottery Website

While in Taiwan I had the opportunity to see my name written in Chinese for the first time. Here is the studio note board with the reminder of my slide talk as well as the student designed poster for the event.

Beth Cavener Stichter - On Tender Hooks - Ceramics Monthly review

2010-03-15T11:10:00.003-04:00

Ceramics Monthly asked me to review the Beth Cavener Stitcher show at Claire Oliver Gallery in NYC this past fall. You can check out the published article here or in the February issue of CM.

Images of Taiwan

2010-02-01T19:33:00.054-05:00

This past winter I spent six weeks as an artist-in-residence at a university in Taiwan. The experience was absolutely wonderful. Each day introduced me to some aspect of life in a culture that was for me completely and totally foreign. It still is quite foreign but my appreciation for the culture, the place and the people has greatly deepened. The time away was very productive both personally and creatively. It offered me an opportunity to stretch beyond the boundaries of my familiar world. The time spent everyday in the studio gave me more focus and perspective on what I am making and why. I am so glad I went to this amazing place. And though I cannot fully communicate my experiences - waking up to a 6.4 earthquake, eating duck tongue and goose blood rice or living in a place where I do not understand the language - I can definitely say that I hope to get back there some day!

Caffe Lena

2010-01-19T23:27:00.009-05:00

A Little Slice of Americana

Saratoga Springs is a great place to call home - a small town with rich history. In 1777 the victorious battle of Saratoga turned out to be the deciding battle of The Revolutionary War, convincing France to join the rebellion ultimately leading to American independence (at least that's the story according to the Saratoga Historical Society).

Folk Music - the music of American struggle, freedom and political change - also claims some historical roots in Saratoga. Check out the current American Way (American Airlines) article about Caffe Lena, a really valuable neighbor on my street in Saratoga (yes, literally six doors down...okay, maybe 8).

Years before moving to Saratoga I spent some evenings hanging out there and fell in love with the place. At that time the legendary Lena Spenser was still alive. I never imagined I would one day be living in the same neighborhood - able to walk in and hang out anytime - or stop while walking by, stand on the sidewalk and listen to a great song. It truly is the same today as it was then...warm and friendly; a great place to hear great music!

NCECA Continental Divide Review - Ceramics Monthly - January 2010

2009-12-29T17:55:00.005-05:00

While in Colorado I was able to check out the NCECA Regional Exhibition at The Arvada Center for the Arts in Arvada, CO. The article published this month in Ceramics Monthly pretty much sums up my thoughts about the exhibition. I was glad to see the show and welcomed the opportunity to publish my review.

Please check it out.
If you saw the show I'd love to hear your thoughts on the exhibition as a whole, any pieces you think my review overlooked or other observations you had about the work included.

Arlene Shechet: Blow by Blow

2009-12-15T06:19:00.009-05:00

Arlene Shechet: Blow by Blow at The Tang Museuem in Saratoga Springs.

I had the good fortune of interviewing the artist a few weeks ago while she was in residence on the Skidmore campus. The museum statement can be found below. The written interview is to follow. Ms. Shechet was featured in the exhibition Dirt on Delight: Impulses That Form Clay early this year (January 15th-June 21st, 2009) at the Philadelphia Institute of Contemporary Art. That exhibition, reviewed and later presented by Roberta Smith at the National Council on Education in the Ceramics Arts Conference in Phoenix, AZ caused some hot discussion among NCECA members. I was, and am, fascinated by that discussion and the ways in which it challenges current approaches to ceramics education.

Arlene Shechet’s recent glazed ceramic objects float, twist, and puff up atop stacks of unadorned concrete, plaster, wood, and steel. While Shechet has worked in sculpture for over two decades, these new works shift away from her earlier explorations of iconographic Buddhist imagery toward more abstract forms and combinations. Confounding any single reading, they hover in the fertile space between East and West, secular and sacred, and modern and ancient.

Shechet’s modeled surfaces demonstrate how clay mirrors the artist’s touch. Her objects bear the mark and memory of her hands. The sculpture's bulges, hollows, spouts, and holes evoke bodily features, and as the artist notes, are “suggestive of the curving forms found in classical Indian sculpture.” By coating the clay with eccentric color combinations and metallic glazes—created with an experimental disregard for traditional firing temperatures—Shechet not only fractures the objects’ surfaces but also undermines any single association with nature. Seeming to expand and deflate like a breath, Shechet’s dynamic works continually transform, as they reappear anew moment by moment.

Born in New York City, Arlene Shechet received her BA from New York University and her MFA from Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been exhibited at numerous venues, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (2009), the Walker Art Center (2009), the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (2008), the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (2008), the Rubin Museum of Art, New York (2007), Real Art Ways, Hartford (2005), and Henry Art Gallery, Seattle (2003). She has created on-site installations at the United States Embassy, Beijing (2008), Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, Woodstock (2007), the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York (2001), and elsewhere.

Beth Cavener Stichter

2009-11-20T21:43:00.019-05:00

The Claire Oliver Gallery statement:

Beth Cavener Stichter's On Tender Hooks addresses controversial, potentially embarrassing subject matter head on and in direct opposition to the reputation of her chosen medium. The artist questions tradition, history, and symbolism, she does not embrace it. By employing a classical genre, executed in clay, Cavener Stichter intentionally provokes art-world prejudices; the artist tempers the provocative while adding to the deliberate contradictions in her work. Cavener Stichter explores child abuse, pornography, self loathing, and insecurity through elegantly crafted goat, hare, and hound proxy. The artist cajoles the viewer into looking at the darker side of the human condition by cloaking it in animal skin.

The properties of clay enable the artist an eloquence of form and surface unavailable through other mediums; her process of construction is painstakingly delicate and time consuming. Cavener Stichter first creates each sculpture from a solid block of clay; her broad, sweeping, gestural passages can only be accomplished with mass behind her movements. The artist then cuts the work into small sections, severing limbs and torso at each point of motion. Each slice is hollowed out and gently reworked so that the straining of the muscle and the articulation of skin and fur are brought to life. Inch by inch this process is repeated, each section being attached to the prior; an exacting labor which takes the artist months to complete.

Cavener Stichter explores frank discussions with her viewer through her anthropological sculpture and a dispassionate objectification of her subjects. What is revealed in the artist’s work it is not an indicator of openness but of vulnerability. She is cognoscente of the danger that the realism of her creatures and her deliberate choice of Martha Stewart color palette can encourage: the worst kind of sentimentality. Those people likely to write off these works easily are the very ones the artist strives to touch. The child of a micro biologist, Beth spent her teenage summers isolated in her father’s lab, painstakingly dissecting fruit flies. Taught to examine facts dispassionately and impartially, the artist imposes no moral judgment or personal seduction on her work; she couches her conclusions in universal terms. The artist hopes that by inducing the viewer to acknowledge his own uncomfortable darker side, she can inspire a greater understanding of those disparities that divide contemporary societies.

Cavener Stichter’s work is the subject of an upcoming article in Sculpture Magazine. She is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution of American Art, Washington DC, Northwest Museum of Art, WA, 21C Museum, KY and other museums throughout the United States.

Tom Myott Gallery

2009-10-31T08:24:00.013-04:00

The Tom Myott Gallery located in the Glens Falls Shirt Factory building is a beautifully designed and installed exhibition space. All aspects have been carefully conceived and finely executed on par with, though much smaller than, standard Chelsea galleries in NYC. The current show offers local audiences a sample of current, original work in contemporary studio pottery.

The four young artists, collective classmates while enrolled as Bachelor of Fine Arts students at The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, have stayed in touch and in tune with much of the lively content within the field of utilitarian ceramics. Thaddeus Powers, Meg Oliver, Kyla Toomey and Stacey Esslinger deliver a tasty feast of energetic new pottery at this beautiful Gallery.

Thaddeus Powers, the initiator of this particular collaborative show, with a studio located on-site at the Glens Falls Shirt Factory, has circulated in the region for the last several years since graduating from Alfred in 2003. Apprenticing with Regis Brodie at Skidmore College, assisting with ceramic wheel-throwing classes in South Glens Falls and setting up shop in the renovated Shirt Factory facility Powers has been developing a presence in the region. His finely crafted work has drawn attention from local potters, aficionados and consumers of handmade tableware.

For this exhibition Powers has called in some fine friends to deliver a welcome shot of vitality to the local scene. Each of them employ forms, colors and layering strategies indicative of a strong background in historical ceramics and complimented by an eye for contemporary design.

Powers’ work displays handsome, strong bold form with variations of strict pattern and loose brushwork. These simple, generous forms act as strong palettes for extensively patterned surfaces of deep gold, russet orange and light blue. The fleur-de-lis motif repeats throughout much of the work and Powers states, “Pattern has the ability to transcend cultural and lingual barriers”. Power’s personal vision stands out most clearly in his fat-spouted teapot forms.

Stacey Esslinger earned her BFA in 2005. Studying ceramics in China in 2002 and participating in a post-graduation residency in Woodstock, NY at the historic Byrdcliffe Artist Colony have added significant enrichment to her formal educational training.

Esslinger’s approach to pottery-making is vastly different than her fellow exhibitors. She uses ‘a variety of fabrics, textiles, and molds of knitting; pressing the fabric into the clay. Using techniques similar to sewing, the seams and darts are joined together creating a three dimensional form’. The artist’s deft handling of this technique creates soft voluminous forms embossed with subtle patterned textures. The forms range from trays, butter dishes and espresso sets to mugs, spice jars and flower bricks.

Kyla Toomey, a current graduate student in the Ohio State University Department of Ceramics, stands as the most experimental of this group. Her two year residency at The Clay Center in Port Chester, NY and an assistantship with Ayumi Horie have placed her at the center of contemporary cutting edge studio pottery and tableware design. In one series of pots she uses cameos and colored clays to reinterpret classic Wedgewood Ceramics. Another series of pots plays with clearly referenced ‘candy dots’ pressed masterfully into soft porcelain pots. A third series finds her decorative floral shapes pressed into pots and springing onto the wall creating a dense ceramic ‘wallpaper’ pattern. It creates a fine visual shift from the three-dimensional object to a two dimensional image.

Meg Oliver, currently residing in Woodstock, NY, serves on the general staff of the Hudson Valley Pottery, Rhinebeck NY. Her interest in handmade pots stems from ‘their quiet revolutionary nature’. Water lilies and tiny, bright woodland flowers are called to mind in the best of Oliver’s work though much of it suffers from technical self-consciousness and lack of design cohesion. More time, experience and attention to details of craftsmanship can remedy these issues quickly.

The work represented thus far at Tom Myott is tame in scope but high in quality and brings an expanded range of visual art to the North Country in first class, professional style. Take advantage of this fine pre-holiday exhibition while supporting a gem of a gallery today; you will be greeted by a warm, friendly local doing his part to keep Glens Falls thriving.

Tom Myott Gallery

Exhibit Dates / October 30th - Dec 23rd

Gallery Hours:

Thursdays thru Saturdays

12pm ~ 7pm or by appointment

Bernini

2009-10-16T11:13:00.015-04:00

I had a dentist awhile back who did a fantastic job of decorating his office with very current, non-representational artwork. The office was in a non-descript old brick ‘professional’ building. You know the ones…in the city, no more than three stories high, glass pane front door with an automatic locking system and a large black directory board (with white pop in letters) just inside. It wasn’t a real classy place but functioned acceptably as my dentist’s office building and he was a good guy. Stepping from the pastel hallway into his waiting room caused an abnormal clash of expectation and reality. It was almost jarring. The decorator had spared the medical illustrations of open mouthed gingivitis gums, Highlights magazines and small brightly colored plastic children’s furniture. Instead the room was smartly painted, furnished with design-school tables and chairs. The walls were sparsely filled, with room to view each carefully selected work of art. Several nice contemporary pieces hung on the wall – originals from a local artist – exploring abstract, geometric themes of color, shape and pattern. And, when I made my way to the exam room I saw in each room an art print or two representing one of the fathers of abstraction. It was fantastic! This guy loved art! We talked about his selections and he wished only that he could surround himself, and his patients with the originals!

And, what does this have to do with Bernini?!

Well, as is customary in the patient/dentist relationship I returned to his office close to six months later (maybe eight). For a lack of anything much else to talk with him about I commented on one or another of the prints expecting his usual enthusiastic response. This time I was met with an incredibly different reaction. My art-loving dentist explained that he couldn’t wait to change some things around the office after having a significant change of heart about art. What happened?

Shortly after my previous visit he had traveled to

Italy

. The explanation he gave was incredibly honest and sincere. It has also stayed with me a long, long time. He’d never before been to Italy; he’d never witnessed the majesty of the Italian Baroque. He was unschooled in art history and after visiting the heartland of figurative art he was quite simply…hooked!

So as I focus in my own studio this week on the Bernini Portrait I remember my former dentist. Some day I should really get back there and peek in his office.

Speaking Likeness: Intimacy & Immediacy in Bernini’s Portraits
In the early 1630s Bernini, who had temporarily abandoned portraiture, was asked by his patrons Cardinal Scipione Borghese and Pope Urban VIII for portrait busts. The result was a less formal and more intimate portrait that marked a decisive change in Bernini’s approach to the art form. Friend to both men, Bernini allows us the privilege of seeing them through his eyes: as men of power and status, but also as real, complex beings. Taking cues from contemporary painting, Bernini chose to portray his sitters in action. Scipione seems to speak and we listen. Lost in thought, Urban turns his head to acknowledge us, and we sense his right arm shift under his cape, as he begins to motion to us. The fleeting moment is preserved forever in stone. Caught up in their action, we respond as if we are now part of the drama. Viewer and artwork engage one another.
Drawing on a figure of speech used by Bernini’s contemporaries, modern scholars have termed Bernini’s portraits from this period “speaking likenesses.” This refers first to busts such as the Scipione which show the sitter in speech. More broadly, the term refers to Bernini’s ability to make inert marble “speak,” conveying both the illusion of life and the psychological presence of his sitters.

she watches

2009-10-09T00:15:00.007-04:00

And now on to other more interesting things...

Check out these images of an ongoing street art project called Women Are Heroes.

The French artist is known only by the initials J.R.

Check out the website at: women are heroes

washing me down...

2009-10-04T00:36:00.037-04:00

We made it to the river! The San Juan was...a bit dirty. Not quite as clear as the rivers back home - the silt filled the water from shore to shore and drop offs occurred quickly (and without visible warning). It was great though to be there.

One of the really amazing aspects about the river was the narrowness of the green vegetation along side its banks. For such a powerfully deep body of water the green bordered it unusually tightly. I guess this is the way of desert water – valuable and scarce.

The next morning was beautiful and a wonderful hike took us up and across the River Wash to view the ancient petroglyphs and desert terrain.

Some of these photos are courtesy of Phil Weneger a really fantastic photographer!
You can check out his work at: phil wegener

Phil's wife Juanjuan was the first person to ride a bicycle around the entire perimeter of China (yes, really!) . You can see images and read the story of her two year long experience at: Juanjuan Yu

(please) drop me in the water...

2009-10-02T15:32:00.004-04:00

Holy towering
sandstone boulders! This was our welcome sign to Bluff, UT. A marvelous navigational marker and hint of views to come. This harsh, dry region is an awe inspiring example of erosion and emptiness. It is also potent blend of beauty and danger. As we drove across the immensely empty land past hundreds of deep arroyos (dry creek beds) I felt a deepening concern for water, food and shelter. The oppressive heat of the sun motivated me as lead navigator to check and double check the GPS ensuring our whereabouts, direction and distance from the town of Bluff. My city girl lifestyle had clearly not prepared me for this environmental openness. The resultant midday sense of raw exposure kicked into gear my self-preservative instincts on par with a midnight walk alone down a dangerous city street. Of course there was no real cause for distress (as long as the car didn't break down!) but still at a lower internal frequency, not managed by logic or reason my heart beat quickened and my focus shifted from sightseeing to site-finding! It was a weird and unexpected response to the land.

Wikipedia describes the town of Bluff as such:

Under the direction of John Taylor, Silas S. Smith led about 230 Mormons on expedition to start a farming community in southeastern Utah. After forging about 200 miles (320 kilometers) of their own trail over difficult terrain, the settlers arrived on the site of Bluff in April 1880. (The trail followed went over and down the "Hole In the Rock," which now opens into one of the tributaries of Lake Powell.) The town survived despite hostilities from Navajos, Utes, belligerent cattlemen, outlaws, and nature. The town’s population had declined to seventy by 1930 but rebounded during a uranium prospecting. With the uranium decline in the 1970s Bluff again declined and now remains a small town with about 300 residents. boom in the 1950s.

take me to the river

2009-10-01T23:13:00.001-04:00

Our trip down the San Juan River started with a drive from Boulder to Bluff. Planned overnight stops in Salida and Alamosa Colorado and another a mile from the boat launch set a relaxed pace. Driving through and stopping in towns along the way was like visiting a series of tiny foreign countries. In one of them, Sangaushe, CO I understood absolutely nothing. During our brief visit to an empty shelved antiques store in this town decimated by economic failure I scoped the place for signs of the 21st century. There weren't any. The jewelry, the furniture, peeling wall board, dust caked windows and whistling proprietor were not of this century. Back in the East this might have been 'quaint' but here it most definitely was not. I walked through time as the romance often associated with the past was slowly and painfully ripped away. This town surrounded by American Reinvestment and Recovery Act road construction is a place forgotten by time. Beautiful and empty.

The Sauguache.org website describes the region as follows: Saguache is the northern gateway to the San Luis Valley in South Central Colorado. It sits at an elevation of 7800 feet, surrounded by the Sangre de Cristo mountain range on the east and the San Juan range on the west. Many of the peaks are 14000 feet, a great challenge to climbers.

Saguache is a Ute Indian name pronounced Sa-watch. It means “Water at the Blue Earth.” It was settled in 1867 by Otto Mears who started his fortune with the first toll road above Poncha Pass. Otto invested in railroads, mining, the Mack Truck Co. and is credited with the famous "Million Dollar Highway”.

Ranching is the main occupation in this part of the Valley. Both cattle and sheep are raised, cattle being predominant. Some logging is done on Forest Service land. More farming is done as you move down the Valley. Crops include potatoes, lettuce and barley.

The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse

2009-09-18T12:46:00.008-04:00

Had a great chai tea and a fantastic lunch here at this beautiful teahouse. What an amazing display of craftsmanship. It is an awe inspiring display of beauty and function. The skills employed in the making of this were clearly learned over the course of generations. I read recently that one of the cultural differences between America and Asia (specifically China) is 'Cultural Foresight'. Asians work hard for their great, great grandchildren...always looking ahead to build strength within their family, community and country over hundreds of years. Imagine learning art so that subsequent generations (and not just our own) could build upon that work to create more beautiful, culturally significant work!

In 1987, during his first visit to Boulder, Mayor Maksud Ikramov announced that Dushanbe planned to present our city with a Teahouse to celebrate the establishment of sister city ties. From 1987 -1990, more than 40 artisans in several cities of Tajikistan created the decorative elements our Teahouse, including its hand-carved and hand-painted ceiling, tables, stools, columns, and exterior ceramic panels. Often these skills are handed down from generation to generation within families. Lado Shanidze served as chief architect.

Teahouse Website

outside the walls

2009-09-16T23:47:00.006-04:00

This September I am living outside the walls of education. Since 1967 I've walked into the structured flow of an educational setting every autumn. Either as teacher or student I didn't miss a year. Giving grades or getting them for 40+ years! That is a long time to judge success - mine or others - by the limited confines of a structured curriculum. I do believe in a solid education and even a long running one but it's taken me awhile to recognize that even good ideas need to be tested.

My first act as a free agent, unattached to any institution of education, was to answer a call from Ceramics Monthly. I was invited as a feature artist in their November issue. 'Stunned' is a huge understatement! It materialized just before Labor Day weekend, the weekend I historically prepare to return to work. It was a fantastic first act in this ‘new year’. The photos and interview are all complete and I await November to see how it looks. In the meantime here is a sneak peak of work in

progress included in the studio shoot.