Monday Inspiration: Robin Hopper

Robin Hopper, Fluted Bowl, three coloured agate ware, (source)

Robin Hopper, Lidded Jar Faceted Three-Coloured agate ware, (source)

I really really want to take pottery classes from Robin Hopper. I think his works are alright- I love the agate ware he makes, to me they reference old china pottery- Wedgwood, and the early twentieth century fine china makers, and I love those references, but the rest of the pieces are sort of ho- hum to me). But what stands out about this guy is that he is so very knowledgeable about Ceramics. He wrote the book on glazes, and several other ceramic related things (literally). He doesn't just make pots, he explores them, and how they're made- his value is in the knowledge he holds about clay, not his conceptual vision as an artist.

One of the reasons that I love working with clay is that it requires an actual knowledge base, It's more than just creativity- and it's not easy to pick up, it requires study, and practice, and acquiring knowledge. It's as much a skill as it is an art- it's a fine craft, and it requires good craftsmanship- and I value that. For some artists the idea is the main thing- those artists don't care whether they make the art or a team of people carry out their ideas, to them the carrying out of it is secondary to the main concept.

I like a good concept too, but mostly I value workmanship, I value long hours trying many ideas that didn't work out to find the one sample that did work. I value lots of drawing and painting and building and planning, lots of practice, and lots of hours learning about your material or art.  Clay is different from conceptual art in that it requires that type of practice in order to make a good piece, you will be better at clay if you practice it, try it, study it, and sometimes, fail at it. But you're always stocking up your knowledge of your craft.

Making clay pieces feels that way to me in a way painting doesn't- it's a Craft. I don't mean the kind of craft where you glue pom poms to Popsicle sticks either, I mean traditional- apprentice at the age of 16, put in ten thousand hours, become a master, type of Craft.  Robin Hopper is that sort of potter, he's a Fine Craftsman, and I love that.

Christmas Baking

Lemon Curd

Marshmallow cookies before their final chocolate coating

My Marshmallow bearded child

Sometimes a blurry picture just expresses the moment better, don't you think?

I was really getting going on my Christmas baking for a while there last week- but then the babe and I got a cold, and now the super tart lemon curd is the only thing I can actually taste- and it just tastes mildly lemony at that. So of course I've lost all desire to bake- because if you can't taste it what's the point? Ah well- the sense of smell is coming back- I can sort of smell the Christmas tree again, the babe is losing that 'glazed doughnut' face a runny nose will give you (especially if you blow your nose by making the sound with your mouth only, or better yet- just saying "BLOW" or "ACHOO" into the Kleenex, which while being hilarious, has a less funny end result).

In other news the Christmas sewing is done! So I can now focus on making eggnog and drinking egg nog, as soon as I can taste it.

In the Studio

These last few weeks have been taken up with Christmas sewing, a table runner, a present for N, more gift bags, and a bunting or two for N's room, I'm almost done though I have a few gifts to ready for the nephews and nieces, and then I can tidy away the sewing stuff, get my sewing machine in for a much needed service call, and focus on making some art. I'm really looking forward to starting 2012 with a studio clean and ready for some painting and some clay. I have few clay pieces lined up for the kiln though- and I'll actually get the glaze firing done before Christmas I think- I'm looking forward to coffee out of one of my own mugs on Christmas day.

Monday Inspiration: Tom Thompson

Tom Thompson, Birch Grove, 1915-16, (Source)

Tom Thompson, Decorative Landscape Birches, 1915 (source)

I don't think I've posted about Tom Thompson yet, I can't think why, his paintings are among my very favorite, the ones that stand out as highly influential when I think of all my 'inspiration artists'. He's commonly associated with the Canadian 'Group of Seven', though he was never officially a part of the group- he was seen a mentor to them, and he died rather mysteriously quite young, in 1917, before the group really came to seen as a "group".  He only made paintings for a short time, but his works are incredibly well known in Canada, and part of our collective art history in a very special way.

One of my dream vacations would be to pilgrimage to the National Gallery of Canada to see as many of his works as I can, I've been there before but not since I studied art- and I think that would make all the difference. I love the light in his paintings, the reddish gold quality of it- the way he paints the sky as though it's fragments of light, very appropriate to the Canadian landscape.

There is of course a group of people who feel that the Group of Seven did a disservice to Canada, by painting it as though it were an empty landscape- no people, unpopulated, even though it was populated- by Aboriginal people. If you look at the paintings through that lens yes you can object to the idea of Canada as a great wild area- with rugged scenic places, and pristine forests, which were first available to human eyes through colonization. Though I understand those critiques, I also think that the idea of Canada as a rugged wild place is surely true, even today, all it takes is a short drive north and you can be ensconced in a place in which People seem absent (even though they might not be actually absent).

*Joy* A Winter Walk

Linking up with Sarah Jane to celebrate joy this month,  check it out!

Go West!

Oh my gosh- I've been neglecting this space lately- I know, but really I just have been full up with things to do besides blogging, and though I fell guilty enough to fess up to the neglect- apparently I don't feel guilty enough to actually post, (by the way this is exactly how I feel about washing the floor too- guilty when I don't do it often- but not guilty enough to break out the mop bucket) so anyhow- I'll just continue on like nothing happened okay? okay.

We went for a trip out west a couple of weeks ago- I was so excited to drive through the mountains, we actually only went as far Kamloops- so we drove through the Rocky Mountains, but not the Coastal Range, and I have to say I think it's an essential thing to do. I've driven through them numerous times, mostly with different people, and then a couple of time with K. I was born in Manitoba, which is the quintessential Prairie province; flat vistas, big sky, lots and lots of Horizon, and then we moved out to British Columbia when I was 8. I love both places, even though I moved back to Manitoba right after high school, but there could not be two more different types of landscapes.

If you are Canadian and have not driven through the mountains, I strongly recommend it, there is nothing so shocking as seeing these giant mounds of rock spring up out of the gradual rolling hills. When you drive from the flat lands to the foothills it sort of changes slowly- there is no moment when you can say  "now it's hilly" but the mountains are just suddenly there looming in front of you, or receding into the rear view. Also we are lucky to have really great roads through the mountains, I mean really great- with regular weather updates- and even a giant screen in most major mountain towns that advises you of road conditions, it's fantastic.

Travelling across the provinces really gives a sense of just how vast, and vastly different each part of this country is, but despite that difference, or possibly because of it, it's all uniquely beautiful.
Though if you have small children you should not expect them to be as awestruck as you are by the mountains- and your trip will go much smoother if you can manage not to be offended when your excited ravings about the mountains!- or the eagles! or the elk! are basically ignored because your child looks like this for the entire trip:

 (well, pretty much the entire trip, only looking up from the movies to snatch a cheese string from your hand, pretty much ignoring the world outside the portable dvd player- which may make you feel like a questionable parent- but will likely make your spouse rave about " making good time")

Monday Inspiration: Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz, Two Towers -- New York, 1911, photogravure. (source)

Alfred Stieglitz, Icy Night, 1893. (source)

Stieglitz is most famous to me as Georgia O'Keeffe's husband- several of his photographs are of her- he especially loved her hands- which to me seems so romantic, and artistic. But actually he was one of the most accomplished photographers of his time, and He owned a gallery in which he helped to launch the careers of several artists, O'Keeffe included. His own photographs are magical though, and they make it difficult to believe that photography ever was (or still is) held in question as an art form.

I guess the thing is- photography takes place mostly in a machine- the way that the artist makes the art is by manipulating that machine or a manipulating a series of chemicals or timing during processing. I think we still have a bit of a notion of art making as a skill- a hands on one, in which the artist does some work with their hands, and it's not actually to do with mental knowledge, or training. And photography is all about knowledge, and observation.

The amazing things about Stieglitz' work is the way he captures a moment, and the way his images are composed - the way a branch juxtaposes against two buildings, the way a child's dark dress contrasts, her mother's white one.  The skill that is most often looked over in artists, the thing that makes them profoundly different from people who don't make art- is the way they observe things, moments, fleeting or drawn out- are analyzed in a different way when one becomes trained to observe the world closely. Observation and perception are the first things you are taught as an artist, and also the first things to slip your mind when life gets busy.

Art (or Life) are all about noticing the things that usually would pass you by.  I think that noticing makes life richer, and that's why we prize art- because it makes us aware of things that we usually wouldn't be. Stielglitz' images make me want to stop and stare at things, they make me aware when my own powers of observation are slipping, and they gently tap my head like a good teacher would- and whisper "Pay Attention!!"