Mali, Land Grab series

Day one back in the studio after a long summer and I finished round one of the Mali map in the new Land Grab series.

Mali, Land Grab Series, 2012 by Kathryn Clark. Broken porcelain plates and clay pots. 5' x 5' 

I was able to accumulate enough plates from thrift stores and this friend and this new friend to make it happen. See that beautiful hand painted dish in the foreground? Pieces like this certainly add a level of depth I didn't have before. This piece was handmade in Egypt.

I still have two more days and counting before my daughter is back in school and I can be in the studio full time again. And that's when I'll sit down and start writing about this series.

I've noticed there's a lot more discussion of our food in the news these days, although that might be because I'm in California where Proposition 37: label our GMO's, is the top story. I'm guessing you can tell which side I'm on. It's getting nasty with Monsanto throwing a lot of money to fight it. This is just one of the issues that comes out of the global land grab and industrial mono-culture farming that results.

Mali, Land Grab Series detail, 2012 by Kathryn Clark.
Broken porcelain plates and clay pots. 5' x 5' 

There are so many little facets of information that I need to summarize in one succinct paragraph. A definite challenge as a writer!

In other news, I have three more artists to share with you in the next two weeks. I can't wait!

work table : Mali (Landgrab series)

I began work off work on the floor/wall installation of the Land Grab series. I will experiment with several versions at first until I come upon that aha moment we all hope for in a new series. In addition to larger broken plates, my friend Myrna Tatar let me dig through her incredible studio to find all sorts of broken plates in her own stash. Oh my, was that fun! She has the same affinity for blue pottery as I do as you can see.

I walked away from her studio with several boxes of wonderful broken shards. As soon as I got home, I dove into work. One of the decisions I have to make is if these pieces should be on the floor or the wall. The floor is an obvious solution. When plates break, they're often found on the floor.

I've chosen to create a map of Mali for the first piece in the series. I have a total of fourteen countries that I will recreate. This first version uses a mix of larger and smaller broken plates.

Mali in progress (Land Grab series), 2012.

I chose to include major rivers in this series as water is being land grabbed just as much as the land is in these countries. This is where it gets tricky, locating the major rivers.

After starting this piece, I came across a much more detailed map. I also want to be sure to focus on the rivers that are most affected. More research, which I love.

I'm using the blue pottery to represent water, Blue Willow especially. For a few years I lived near several beautiful willow trees that lazily hung over a meandering creek. The funny thing was they were in a Burger King parking lot. Enough said.

Mali in progress (Land Grab series), 2012.

The next version will be made with larger shards, ideally more tightly bound. The nice element about this version though is the ability to place it on a wall to mimic the idea of 'wall plates' like you see in traditional homes.

Summer distractions and broken plates

It's been a distracting summer this year. My daughter has twelve weeks off from school, only two of them will be spent at camp. Needless to say, more than two hours in the studio every day is rare. The other distraction is my new garden, which is going strong. When the produce is ripe, you've got to jump into action. With twenty raised beds and nineteen fruit trees, I've had my hands full!

My brain, however, is longing and aching to spend time in the studio to catch up on all these ideas in my sketchbook around the landgrabbing series. My clay class is over and now I'm waiting for the call to pick up my glazed and fired pieces from the studio. Hopefully they turned out and I can share some of them with you soon. Trust me, they're elementary! But you have to start somewhere. Three years ago I didn't even know how to sew and I learned that medium in no time! In the meantime, I have other ideas flowing around the series. Here is one image I came across that I just can't get out of my mind. It was taken in China.

Image by Jennifer Ling Datchuk taken in China

I'm on the hunt for broken plates for the new series. I see lots of talk about broken plates on the internet, how you can find them on ebay. But every time I search, I come up empty handed. But seriously, if I could just get my hands on all of these, I'd be the happiest gal alive!

Image by Jennifer Ling Datchuk taken in China

I have a friend who plans to give me a box full next week to supplement my trips to local thrift stores. But I need a stash that looks like these.

Image by Jennifer Ling Datchuk taken in China

I wonder how many restaurants break plates every week? Any ideas on where to look would be wonderful! I feel like there's some obvious solution that I'm missing. If anyone can enlighten me, I would be thrilled!

Artist : Vicki Grima

Once again, Lari Washburn and Sophie Truong have spotted an artisan who I also admire. I came across Vicki Grima's 87 spoons project on Sophie's Pinterest board, spoon obsession. I, too, have an obsession with spoons, and Vicki's certainly push the envelope.

Vicki Grima, 87 Spoons, 2011. Cool Ice

It all began with a Culinary Clay workshop she attended in Bali in 2010. Returning to her native Australia, she continued exploring the subject in her own studio.

Vicki Grima, 87 Spoons, 2011. Cool Ice spoon BRT bowl

These are gorgeous, especially the ones that are paired with the contrasting textured bowls.

Vicki Grima, 87 Spoons, 2011. Cool Ice spoon BRT bowl

Functional sculpture is what these are. They almost look like something you would find lying in the bottom of the ocean in the rough brown sand.

Vicki Grima, 87 Spoons, 2011. Cool Ice spoon BRT bowl

See more of Vicki's 87 Spoons series and her other work on her website. If you head over to Lari and Sophie's websites, you'll see their own work with spoons over the past few weeks at Ingrid Bathe's workshop in Maine. I SO wish I could have been there working alongside them.

Upcoming Show : Disintegration and Repair at Warm Springs Gallery

Four of my foreclosure quilts will be included in the July exhibition "Disintegration and Repair" at Warm Springs Gallery in Charlottesville, VA.  I'm thrilled to be a part of a show with some talented fiber artists who I've come to know online and in person. See below to learn more about the other artists in the exhibition.

Barbara Wisnoski

Grey Rain Sea, 152 x 157 cm by Barbara Wisnoski.

Barbara and I spent an afternoon together with our mutual friend, Myrna Tatar, last year to see Barbara's pieces at the San Jose Quilt Museum. Her work was even more impressive in person.

Lotta Helleberg

Forest Floor by Lotta Helleberg. Leaf printed, plant dyed linen,
wool thread, hand stitched. 21" x 33"

I met Lotta online last year and we had an instant connection through our work. Lotta's work is inspired by nature and is stunningly beautiful. Be sure to read Lotta's blog if you're interested in the fiber process. It's an amazing resource.

Karen Henderson

Accept by Karen Henderson. Hand woven silk, paper, rayon paper w/silk; batik, dye paint, discharge,
layered with cotton fabric, with stitching, paint and silver foil.

30” x 61”. Photograph by John Sterling Ruth

Karen uses many traditional fiber techniques including weaving, dyeing, and stitching to reflect the cycles of nature.

Margarite Gignoux

Strings by Margarite Gignoux. Handmade cotton paper, machine stitched and
mounted on canvas. 46" x 70"

Margarite uses a diverse variety of fabrics, papers, buttons, beads and other recycled materials to make powerful quilts that push the boundaries of the medium.

The exhibition runs from July 1st through July 31st at Warm Springs Gallery in Charlottesville, VA. There is an artist reception on Friday, July 6th from 6-8 pm. I won't be able to make it in person but I hope those of you near are able to visit.

Artist : Mel Robson

Based in Brisbane, Australia, Mel Robson's ceramics combine art and craft in a way that you rarely see. How often do you see conceptual ceramics out there?

Keep Calm and Carry On (coat of arms), 2008, slipcast porcelain, 20cm x 34cm

Every year Mel's work is more powerful than the next. I found her work via Pinterest, via Jealous Curator. I can't believe I remembered that. These days it's so hard to track the endless paths one takes on the internet.

Fortitude, 2006, slipcast porcelain with decals, 10cm x 5cm

I was first drawn in by her maps, you know me. I love the image transfer but what makes it such a powerful piece is the translucency with the map in reverse shining through on the outside. Beautiful. Her ceramics are well crafted, thoughtfully detailed and very clever. Her series Keep Calm and Carry On addresses stories she heard from the women in her family who experienced war time. It addresses what it must have been like for them while they went on with their daily lives while the men were off at war.

Weeping Willow (Keep Calm and Carry On series), 2008, found ceramic plates (water jet cut),
8cm x 10cm each 

A very successful series and beautifully made. Water jet cut, eh? Hmmm, the ideas are flowing!

Shot Gun, 2008, ceramic plate (water jet cut), 95cm x 60cm

Where to stop? I can't! The Absence of Objects installation was inspired by the heritage collections one finds in libraries. So many stories that have been forgotten are saved here. Mel calls them "little doorways into the past". Individually, the pieces are powerful in their own right.

Spoon Works, 2007, slipcast porcelain 4cm x 11cm each

But seen as a whole, they make a powerful statement.

The Absence of Objects (detail), 2006, slipcast porcelain with decals 

Fight and flight (detail), 2007, slipcast porcelain with decals, 11cm x 11cm (set) 

See her blog Feffakookan (named after a german biscuit her nana used to make) to see lots more of Mel's work. Enjoy!

Work table : Land Grabbing Series

The land grabbing series is underway (there's got to be a better name). In the meantime, all of my Foreclosure quilts are now shipped off to new homes or are in upcoming shows. I started my clay class last week and have learned a tremendous amount already. Last night we experimented with slab construction. I handed over my first pieces for firing so we'll see if they turn out. In the meantime, there is a lot of experimenting going on in my studio as well. Here's a peek.

Above are pieces my daughter and I made on our first day in the 'clay' studio. Of course, there will be textiles as part of this series as well.

Ceramics will be a quick learning curve for me as I tend to throw myself into my work 200% once I have an idea. I already have a lot of clay tools in my studio including some of my mom's from thirty plus years ago.

Both of my parents were artists and made pottery. Here's one of my favorite pictures of my dad hard at work. I love the pipe hanging out of his mouth while he works.

In between clay building, I'm developing the series and honing down on the subject matter with lots of sketches, studies and writing.

I love this moment in the process, when the idea is there but it needs refining and direction. It gives me the chance to study the idea in different scales from the tiny ...

Oil Palm Seed. Image by Rhett A. Butler.

To the global scale ...

Oil Palm clear cutting in the Ketipang district of Indonesia's West
Kalimantan province, July 5, 2010. Image courtesy of REUTERS/Craig Palinggi

It will all come together in the end as an intimate yet powerful statement about industrial agriculture and land grabbing. I hope to share some writing about the work with you next week but in the meantime, there are lots of other ceramicists to share with you so stay tuned.

Artist : Paula Greif

What better way to kick off a ceramics binge on my blog than my featuring Paula Greif's work. It was Greif's story behind her ceramics that instantly drew me into her work.

Photo by Anita Calero and Gemma Comas.

She was simply inspired to make everything she uses in her home by hand after reading a book about Alexander Calder, who did the same. Why not?

Pottery Paula made for her home in 2011. Photo by Paula Greif.

And that's exactly what she set out to do. Nothing like a mission to light a fire under your pants. That's kind of how I'm feeling these days so I can really relate to that kind of passion.

Paula's pottery on her kitchen shelves. 
Photo by Anita Calero and Gemma Comas.

Lots and lots of making, producing, experimenting, trying things out, messing around and having fun. Art should be all that, right? Paula's got it in spades.

Photo by Paula Greif.

I love these rows of spoons. So many ideas being developed here. I love the looseness and confidence in exploring.

Photo by Paula Greif.

And it all ends up on the table. I'm obsessed lately with table settings as I work on formulating this new series on industrial agriculture. How to present the work? So many directions to follow. The answer will become clearer with time and my own exploration.

Photo by Anita Calero and Gemma Comas.

In the meantime, I started my clay class this week and had a great time. I learned a tremendous amount from the teacher (who is Japanese, love that) and was surrounded by a lot of talented students. Soon, I'll have something of my own work to show you! In the meantime, enjoy more of Paula's work on her website, her tumbler page which has lots of images of her work and a feature on Remodelista.

C L A R I T Y : a new series on the way

A beautiful word, C L A R I T Y. We artists plod along year after year searching for clarity in our work: the meaning behind it and what defines our art in particular. We all have to go through that soul searching process, which is never fun but a necessary part of our job. 

Not sure if who's studio this is (anyone know?) but just look
at all the exploration going on here! UPDATE: The studio is Ree Morton's. Thanks SID!

Stumbling upon the idea for the foreclosure quilts was so wonderful for me. In the back of my head though, I was always thinking ... what's next? How on earth can I do another series that will live up to the meaning and poignancy I managed to create with those quilts? And what about that medium? Am I a fiber artist or a conceptual artist? If I'm a conceptual artist, it frees me up to pick and chose any medium that the work dictates it should be. After much deliberation I can say now that I'm a conceptual artist and I am free to use whatever medium is right for the work. Whew! It was hard to come around to that.

Saved Shreds, 2011.

So what kind of conceptual artist am I? I know that land use and economics are crucial factors in my work. And I know that global land grabbing and industrial agriculture is where all of my passion is focused right now.

Limbang Borneo Oil Palm plantation. Yes, that's right, that's
forest clear cutting. All of the beige in the photo is terraced farmland.

The problem I had was how to bring these issues to light in my work using a medium that would grab you like the quilts did. I tried using fiber, I really did. But it just never clicked. And then I had an aha moment (don't you love those!). I had just told my mind to be open in influence and listen and wait and listen and wait. It took six months which seems like a blip now but certainly didn't when I was becoming frustrated waiting. You know how you look back on your work and see the solution was staring at you right in the face but you couldn't connect the dots? Seriously.

Connect the dots clay series, 2009.

And remember this post? Well, I'm ready for it now. Clay. Clay. Clay. What better way to hit people square in the face with food issues than at the table? I have grand dreams: installations, dinner parties, entire lines of table settings. It can't hurt to dream! I start my clay class next week and I'll keep you posted with all the messy and crazy progress. It will be a fun ride. And think of all those amazing artisans I have yet to feature in the medium. Keep your napkins on your lap!

Foreclosure Quilt : Southern Chase

I finished a new foreclosure quilt last week, this one is located in Concord, North Carolina in the Southern Chase neighborhood. I was commissioned to make the piece for a journalist, Binyamin Appelbaum, who co-wrote a series of articles in the Charlotte Observer on the unusually high rate of foreclosures seen among one particular builder, Beazer Homes.

Southern Chase Foreclosure Quilt, 2012. 23" x 30"
Linen, cotton, cotton voile, string and embroidery thread.

Beazer created the Southern Chase neighborhood to specifically provide low cost homes to low income families. One out of every five homes ended up in foreclosure. There were numerous red flags with their practices but one alarming one was that they arranged mortgage loans for  two-third's of the buyers. The idea that builders can arrange mortgage loans just seems like a bad idea to me.

Southern Chase Foreclosure Quilt detail, 2012. 23" x 30"
Linen, cotton, cotton voile, string and embroidery thread.

Beazer Homes was accused of violating federal lending laws in 2009, and reached a settlement which you can read about here.

Southern Chase Foreclosure Quilt detail, 2012. 23" x 30"
Linen, cotton, cotton voile, string and embroidery thread.

The list is long of investigations, one of them was worth $50,000,000 for Mortgage and Accounting Fraud with United States. Needless to say, Beazer is still busy building homes throughout the US. Please view the entire series of articles via this link written by Binyamin Appelbaum, Lisa Hammersly Munn and Ted Mellnik. I wonder what would have happened with Beazer Homes had these journalists not written the articles. We need more people like them!

Artist : Lady Saphire

I came across these images the other day and had to share. Stunning, absolutely stunning, don't you agree?

Every morning a grapefruit, 2012 by Lady Saphire.

There's just something so compelling about them. The idea of using a tradiational frame to confine such a beautiful chaos.

Most Grateful to Tom L. Too, 2012 by Lady Saphire.

It gives new meaning to the word 'framework'.

Many Years in the Making, 2012 by Lady Saphire. 

The artist's statement reads:

"Materials. From everywhere – on the street, broken, loved, unloved - the excitement of a torn piece of paper, a candy wrapper, scraps of fabric, plastic. So many beautiful objects, life is incredible."

Lady Saphire

Most Grateful to Tom L., 2012 by Lady Saphire.

See more images here with detailed photos. I can't wait to see what comes next.