about
Art is my life, and it is the only one I want to live.
I started taking pottery classes at a local community arts centre, and this quickly became one of my many forms of expression. I consider myself a "self taught" artist because I am not formally trained in ceramics, photography or painting, though I have had many wonderful teachers along the way.
When I began working with clay my main goal at the start was to throw the biggest bowl possible. That is the wonder of clay, once I threw my 1,000 bowls, extruded dozens of casseroles, made literally 100's of slab plates (with very rude words!) I had enough of 'production work' so I went a completely different direction and found my joy! For the last few years I have been exploring many different styles and forms but what has remained consistent is my focus on the whimsical. My love of the ocean plays a large part in my inspiration and my recent projects reflect that passion.
I started taking pottery classes at a local community arts centre, and this quickly became one of my many forms of expression. I consider myself a "self taught" artist because I am not formally trained in ceramics, photography or painting, though I have had many wonderful teachers along the way.
When I began working with clay my main goal at the start was to throw the biggest bowl possible. That is the wonder of clay, once I threw my 1,000 bowls, extruded dozens of casseroles, made literally 100's of slab plates (with very rude words!) I had enough of 'production work' so I went a completely different direction and found my joy! For the last few years I have been exploring many different styles and forms but what has remained consistent is my focus on the whimsical. My love of the ocean plays a large part in my inspiration and my recent projects reflect that passion.
inspiration
. . . and into the ocean I go to lose my mind and find my soul
The first time I snorkelled with turtles was in Bermuda in 2017 and it was the most amazing experience. I was hooked, line and sunk! My love of the ocean has led me to become certified recreational diver in the fall of 2018. In January 2019 I completed my Open Water certification in Maui, Hawaii taking my photography and ceramic inspirations from top side to underwater. The ocean is a whole new world and without a doubt my photography and sculptures contains elements of my passion. Since that first dive in Hawaii I have been privileged to experience the deep blue in Cuba, Bermuda and Grand Cayman. |
what the hell is steampunk?
The first steampunk convention took place in 2006. The term itself comes from science fiction novels, allegedly coined by author Kevin Jeter as a way of distinguishing him and fellow retro-tech sci-fi writers from future-loving cyberpunks. It's grown into a whole visual style, and even a philosophy. It's all about mixing old and new: fusing the usability of modern technology with the design aesthetic and philosophy of the Victorian age. The juxtaposition of nature and technology hopefully makes you ask 'what the hell was she thinking!' With every piece I make I thoroughly enjoy the process of merging ocean creatures and modern technology. |
materials
clay
I am still in an experimental stage of finding the ultimate sculpture clay so the information I am providing here is for my most recent work. My suggestion to you is to try all kinds of clays and experiment! Your clay body all depends on what you want to do, which is the first question you need to ask yourself. For the past 2 years I have used Laguna B-Mix Low Fire Clay (no grog) for sculpting. This clay is meant for throwing not sculpting so there is not a lot of forgiveness. It is a medium temperature clay: Cone 5-6. I do not at all suggest using this type of clay for large sculptures! I have had minimum cracks and issues from firing but it really is not for sculpture, so I do not want to lead you down the garden path. Began working with Laguna B-Mix Cone 5 clay with grog on Joy Ride II. Great to work with but yet to test out in the kiln. Much easier to sculpt but not as forgiving when you are cleaning up areas and smoothing out. You get down to the grog and particles quickly, other than the issue it is lovely. For my coral series "Broken" I used New Zealand Porcelain Cone 5 from Clay Art Centre in Tacoma Washington. You can also purchase this clay from local pottery supply store Greenbarn. The only reason I head down to Tacoma is that I usually buy large quantities and even with the travel day and exchange it saves me significant money. The reason I used this clay so that when I fired the pieces they would turn out as close to white as possible without glazing. I wanted the unglazed finish to represent the ocean bleaching that is occurring. FYI - you simply cannot sculpt big with this clay although this clay is AMAZING on the wheel! |
surfaces
underglazes
My initial functional stoneware and later my large mask pieces I was using AMAZCO Velvet series underglazes on greenware. Once bisque fired I would layer with a black underglaze and wipe off finishing with a matte or satin clear glaze and a final firing. This would add depth and dimension to the pieces. As I usually only bisque fire my sculpture pieces I have yet to continue with this process in 2020 but I am considering it in my new work. paint, seriously?? One of the main reasons I have gone in this direction is that I don't feel the need to fire my sculpture pieces 2x going through the bisque fire and the 2nd firing. Yes, I use a variety of different mediums for finishing that includes acrylic paint. I recently purchased a IWATA spray gun that I am experimenting. So far I have used GOLDEN high flow acrylic paint. For the steampunk piece 'Kraken' I used mainly gold spray paint with the addition of 1920's lens and a 1950's diving gauge. |
tools
texture nerds applications now accepting!
Kidding! I have purchased hundreds of tools over the years and always end up using about 10-15 of them. See pic left! I use a great deal of found objects for texture and often things you don't expect. (nuts, bolts, bark, coral) Tools that are excellent quality include Xiem sculpture tools, basic wood sculpting tools and interesting enough a set of cake decorating tools. I also use the 'doll eye' tools as well. I have a great many MKM stamps . . . |
2021
Mixed media combining sculpture, acrylic painting and resin.
up for air
2020
Starting out small I began the year with 'Breathe' featuring Fred taking a breath before he heads down for more turtle grass. You will probably see a great deal more in this series as I truly love turtles and one of my joys is sitting on the beach and seeing turtles poke their heads out of the water.
Breathe
Joy Ride
Dinner
Eye Sea You
Joy Ride II
face time
Raven Queen
Sir Geoffrey & Sophie
Surrender featuring Octavia
Davey Jones
steampunk
Kraken- SOLD
Octopoda
Super Fred
broken
BROKEN is my construct of the affect global warming on coral. The overall warming of global seawater has led to bleaching at a large scale at coral reefs around the world. Warmer water temperatures can result in coral bleaching. When water is too warm, corals will expel the algae living in their tissues causing the coral to turn completely white. This is called coral bleaching.
My inspiration for BROKEN is defined directly for my love of the ocean. Natural forms and symbols are always finding their way into my work. My current works have evolved from my search for place and placement of a way to reflect our careless disregard to the condition of the world's oceans and the stark unglazed ceramic sea shapes. I am exploring ways to bleed colour and light into environmentally damaged coral. The addition of the pulsing colour laminating from below is meant to highlight of what we are losing in our oceans. Unless we make worldwide changes we will be unable to reverse the damage we have done.
The initial instalment of my work BROKEN premiered as part of the Luminescence III exhibition at the Deer Lake Art Gallery in March 2018. The maquette was scaled to 2'x2' and was the preliminary model of the planned larger full scale installation. The initial 2'x2' artwork took over 2 months and 250 hours. Beginning in 2019 I plan to continue to work on the large scale installation measuring 4’ x 8’. All of my sculptures in this series are hand built using New Zealand porcelain fired in an electric kiln once to cone 5. The scope of the artwork installation includes building a large frame and wiring the light to illuminate from below.
There are many flaws and imperfections of almost every piece of BROKEN. When you look closely at the artwork you will see the cracks and fissures. I thoroughly embrace each of these imperfections as the clay I chose does NOT lend itself well to sculpture work. The New Zealand porcelain was purpose driven. I knew from the beginning it was the wrong clay to sculpt but the right clay to reflect the 'unnatural' condition of our oceans.
My inspiration for BROKEN is defined directly for my love of the ocean. Natural forms and symbols are always finding their way into my work. My current works have evolved from my search for place and placement of a way to reflect our careless disregard to the condition of the world's oceans and the stark unglazed ceramic sea shapes. I am exploring ways to bleed colour and light into environmentally damaged coral. The addition of the pulsing colour laminating from below is meant to highlight of what we are losing in our oceans. Unless we make worldwide changes we will be unable to reverse the damage we have done.
The initial instalment of my work BROKEN premiered as part of the Luminescence III exhibition at the Deer Lake Art Gallery in March 2018. The maquette was scaled to 2'x2' and was the preliminary model of the planned larger full scale installation. The initial 2'x2' artwork took over 2 months and 250 hours. Beginning in 2019 I plan to continue to work on the large scale installation measuring 4’ x 8’. All of my sculptures in this series are hand built using New Zealand porcelain fired in an electric kiln once to cone 5. The scope of the artwork installation includes building a large frame and wiring the light to illuminate from below.
There are many flaws and imperfections of almost every piece of BROKEN. When you look closely at the artwork you will see the cracks and fissures. I thoroughly embrace each of these imperfections as the clay I chose does NOT lend itself well to sculpture work. The New Zealand porcelain was purpose driven. I knew from the beginning it was the wrong clay to sculpt but the right clay to reflect the 'unnatural' condition of our oceans.
videos
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exhibitions
Deer Lake Art Gallery
2018 Luminescence III
2017 Luminescence II
2016 Luminescence I
2017 BC Gallery of Ceramics - April 6 to 29
2018 Luminescence III
2017 Luminescence II
2016 Luminescence I
2017 BC Gallery of Ceramics - April 6 to 29
speaking engagement
Richmond Potter's Guild - February 2016
memberships
2017 - Potters Guild of BC (current)
2018 - Arts BC (current)
2018 - Arts BC (current)
workshops
2019
Diving - Open Water, Maui, Hawaii - certified!
2018
Pine Needle Weaving - Linda Doherty & Lynnette Gilackson, instructors
Diving - Confined New West Dive & Sea
2017
Styrofoam Hump Molds - Linda Doherty, instructor
Intensive Throwing - Jay MacLennan, instructor
Soda Firing Workshop - Linda Doherty, Jay MacLenna, instructors
Handbuilding Workshop - Bob Kingsmill Instructor
Constructing with porcelain - Tanis Saxby, instructor
Emily Carr Introduction to Mold Design and Casting - Phillip Robson, instructor
2016
Baker's Delight - Fredi Rahn, instructor
Sets & Settings - Fredi Rahn, instructor
Bas Relief - Louise Solecki-Weir, instructor
Teapots with Attitude - Kathleen Raven, instructor
2015
Pots That Pour - Jay MacLennan, instructor
Finished Texture - Jay MacLennan, instructor
Throwing & Altering - Fredi Rahn, instructor
2014
Intensive Extruding - Linda Doherty, instructor
Intensive Throwing - Jay MacLennan, instructor
Bowls, Bowls, Bowls - Jay MacLennan, instructor
Garden Sculpture - Jay MacLennan, instructor
2013
Daytime Pottery - Sabrina Keskula, instructor
Painting with Spoke - Linda Doherty, instructor
Workshop with Elizabeth Carver
Summer Pottery - Sabrina Keskula, instructor
2012
Daytime Pottery- Sabrina Keskula, instructor
Summer Pottery - Sabrina Keskula, instructor
2011
Daytime Pottery - Sabrina Keskula, instructor
Introduction to Pottery - Sabrina Keskula, instructor
Diving - Open Water, Maui, Hawaii - certified!
2018
Pine Needle Weaving - Linda Doherty & Lynnette Gilackson, instructors
Diving - Confined New West Dive & Sea
2017
Styrofoam Hump Molds - Linda Doherty, instructor
Intensive Throwing - Jay MacLennan, instructor
Soda Firing Workshop - Linda Doherty, Jay MacLenna, instructors
Handbuilding Workshop - Bob Kingsmill Instructor
Constructing with porcelain - Tanis Saxby, instructor
Emily Carr Introduction to Mold Design and Casting - Phillip Robson, instructor
2016
Baker's Delight - Fredi Rahn, instructor
Sets & Settings - Fredi Rahn, instructor
Bas Relief - Louise Solecki-Weir, instructor
Teapots with Attitude - Kathleen Raven, instructor
2015
Pots That Pour - Jay MacLennan, instructor
Finished Texture - Jay MacLennan, instructor
Throwing & Altering - Fredi Rahn, instructor
2014
Intensive Extruding - Linda Doherty, instructor
Intensive Throwing - Jay MacLennan, instructor
Bowls, Bowls, Bowls - Jay MacLennan, instructor
Garden Sculpture - Jay MacLennan, instructor
2013
Daytime Pottery - Sabrina Keskula, instructor
Painting with Spoke - Linda Doherty, instructor
Workshop with Elizabeth Carver
Summer Pottery - Sabrina Keskula, instructor
2012
Daytime Pottery- Sabrina Keskula, instructor
Summer Pottery - Sabrina Keskula, instructor
2011
Daytime Pottery - Sabrina Keskula, instructor
Introduction to Pottery - Sabrina Keskula, instructor