Artist : Recheng Tsang

Recheng Tsang's work defies categorization. Are they installations, sculpture, ceramics? You could say they evoke textiles even though they're made of porcelain.

ovals, glazed and unglazed porcelain, aluminum wire and panel, 53" x 93", 2012

by Recheng Tsang. Image by Muffy Kibbey.

Whatever you want to call them, they're beautiful. Hundreds of painstakingly handmade porcelain tiles, delicately assembled to form stunning wall installations.

Ovals (detail), glazed and unglazed porcelain, aluminum wire and panel, 53" x 93", 2012

by Recheng Tsang. Image by Muffy Kibbey.

And then there's the detail. A single hint of color, just quietly slipped in, but making such a bold statement. It completely changes the meaning of the entire piece.

frayed : white, unglazed porcelain and acrylic on plexiglass, 6" x 6" each panel, 2011
by Recheng Tsang.  Image by Muffy Kibbey.

I first learned of ReCheng's work via Handful of Salt, back when I was a reader and not a writer for the site yet. I loved Regina's profile on Recheng. I felt as though I knew her already. She likes Richard Tuttle, she sews and she procrastinates by cleaning her house. Hmmm, boy does that sound familiar. I admire her honesty.

Circles and Variations, glazed porcelain on plexiglass panel, 24" dia, 2012
by Recheng Tsang.  Image by Muffy Kibbey.

A few years down the road and I still remembered reading the article but now my friend Myrna Tatar mentioned her name to me every time we met. "You must connect with Recheng. You're both working with ceramics and I know you'd love her work." Myrna was right.

Study for Ovals, glazed and unglazed porcelain on aluminum panel, 10" x 10", 2012
by Recheng Tsang.  Image by Muffy Kibbey.

The best bit, Recheng lives just over the Bay Bridge from me. In a couple of weeks, I'll have the chance to visit her studio and meet her in person. I can't tell you how excited I am. Maybe she'll let me snap a few photos I can share with you soon.

circles and variations : white, porcelain and lithium on wall, 15" x 63", 2010
by Recheng Tsang.  Image by Muffy Kibbey.

Until then, see all of Recheng's work on her website and read the Handful of Salt profile here.

Studio Pepe Heykoop at Handful of Salt

I've got another article over at Handful of Salt. It touches on Dutch designer, Pepe Heykoop's creative leather pieces.

Matka Vases by Studio Pepe Heykoop. Image courtesy of Annemarijne Bax

There's something about those Dutch. I would love to know how they are taught because some of the most creative design in the world is coming out of that country. Hmmm, a trip next year perhaps? Head on over to Handful of Salt for the article.

Brazil : Land Grab Series

I'm on a roll again with the Land Grab Series. I have new pottery to add to the installations which gives the pieces a more three dimensional twist. The new camera has arrived and the studio has essentially been emptied to work on these so here they come! This week I  feature Brazil. Soy is the key crop here.

Brazil, 2012 by Kathryn Clark. 6' x 7'

Approaching this work feels so much different than my other work. I can't seems to visualize these pieces ahead of time like the Foreclosure series or some of my earlier paintings. There's a lot of doubt going into each piece but after each one is completed (it feels like doing a jigsaw puzzle), I have much more elation about them than I have after finishing other work. Perhaps my heart is more invested in this series or perhaps I still have my doubts dabbling in ceramics.

Brazil (detail), 2012 by Kathryn Clark. 6' x 7'

Nevertheless, I have no choice in making these. It's my calling at the moment and I'm enjoying it. Now, onto the facts. I'm still pondering how to present the statistics along with the pieces. I even wondered about an interactive website that would drill down to more and more detail about the land investments (likely angering numerous corporations and governments).

Brazil, 2012 by Kathryn Clark. 6' x 7'

I can tell you a little bit about Brazil's land situation. There have been at least twenty-three major land deals with foreign investors just over the past two years. 2,936,854 hectares (see note) of land have been leased or sold to overseas companies. Many diverse crops are being grown or raised but soy remains one of the leaders. The issues with soy in Brazil are many. The largest being the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

Brazil (detail), 2012 by Kathryn Clark. 6' x 7'

The land is cheaper in the Amazon. The soil is fertile and the water plentiful for growing. Soy is most often grown here as a monoculture. The result is tremendously large scale farms that become dependent on pesticides and bio-engineering in order to thrive. This affects the rivers as well as the nearby local farmers who find their land and food polluted. Here's a link to a great interview with Dr, Sergio Sauer (National Rapporteur for Human Rights in Land, Territory and Food, Brazil). He goes into detail about the issues affecting soy farming in Brazil.

Brazil (detail), 2012 by Kathryn Clark. 6' x 7'

There are many countries investing in developing land here. The United States has plenty as does China, France, Germany and even Argentina. There is a lot more research to be poured through and understood but the gist is, there is serious environmental damage happening in Brazil through large scale food production.

Notes: The information on hectare development is from Grain: Land Grab Deals February 2012.

Willing to play?

So the past few months I've been fretting. I haven't had much to show of my own work on this blog. It's because I've been busy ... playing. Developing new ideas can be incredibly challenging and frustrating. For me, it's a time issue. I hate thinking I wasted precious time not doing everything in my power to develop new work. We hunker down. We get serious. Who has time to play? This is where our problems begin. We need to allow ourselves playtime so that we're open to innovative and creative solutions.

Brazil landgrab map in progress this week.

Everyone's technique is different. I loved hearing Robert Ryman talk about what he does between his series ... nothing. He understands his creative process well enough to know that he shouldn't get in the way of it. And for him, that's to ignore it. Another artist who knows how to play is Hela Jongerius. But it looks like her play ends up as her final work.

Non Temporary by Hela Jongerius, 2005.

Over the past eight years, I've been able to really hone in on what makes my creativity work. I love challenges, but I like to approach them slowly. I know I needed to learn a new medium for this next series. I stopped fighting the voice in my head that said 'It will take too long to learn' and just got on with it. And what I made isn't great but it's a start. It's all about quantity at this point and thinking with my hands to understand a new medium. I'll talk more about that below.

My very first six highly irregular and very bland pinch pot tea cups.
The more I make, the better they'll be. At least, I hope so!

I gave myself the time to explore clay. I had no idea where I was going with this. My first ideas for my new series finally popped into my head last week but I'm not implementing them until January. I'm having fun just exploring.

This is where I dared myself to use something other than Randall White glaze.
Yes, that's hard for me!

If you have kids, watch them at play. This weekend we went to a friend's wedding. They rented a photo booth with props for photos for their guest book. Brilliant! The booth was unused for the first half hour until the kids figured out what it was. They weren't shy! The adults knew what it was but it was set up in plain sight of everyone! It was only after they had a few drinks did they start to loosen up and head over. That's my daughter on the left. Oh, and I made her dress last Tuesday. That was my play for that day.

Remember how I mentioned quantity and thinking with your hands? There's a great video on the importance of these points in play by designer Tim Brown. I love how the audience is forced to play, what better way to remember how to do it than to actually practice it. Watch it and feel yourself loosen up.

Give yourself some time each day to play. If you've had any revelations about your artwork while playing, I'd love to hear them!

Sketchbook Project is on tour

The Sketchbook Project is on the road again, this time in a tour called A Landmark and a Mission curated by Christopher Jobson at Colossal. My sketchbook from 2011 will be along for the ride so if you're in or near Pittsburgh, Ann Arbor and Cleveland, be sure to check it out.

And if you're not, view it digitally here right now.

Artist : Motoi Yamamoto

One of the comments made on my last post about installation artist, Jean Shin, was by Kristin L. She had a great question: How do installations move around? Of course, each exhibit varies but Motoi Yamamoto's salt installations have a very unique answer to that question.

Labyrinth by Motoi Yamamoto. March-May 2012

Incredible, no? But when you see these in the scale of a museum, they're even more amazing.

Labyrinth by Motoi Yamamoto.
September - December 2012

Yamamoto began this series after the early death of his sister at the age of twenty four to brain cancer. He had worked in other mediums, like glass, but it was at her funeral in Japan that salt began to play a role in his work. Salt is thrown over your shoulder as part of a purification ritual after a Shinto funeral. His first works were made in private as a way to remember his sister.

Labyrinth by Motoi Yamamoto.

As Yamamoto began to work in the medium, he learned so many other important human needs for salt: for humans health, as a food preservative, even as a form of money. I just read yesterday the word salary comes from sal i.e. salt when salt was used as currency during roman times.

Labyrinth by Motoi Yamamoto.

These installations have also become a sort of labyrinth, a symbol of being born and life itself. How fitting then to have a labyrinth made of salt. Yamamoto says he often has at least one vivid dream of his sister when working on each piece.

Labyrinth by Motoi Yamamoto.

Regarding installation, the museums and galleries are often open during his slow on site process of making each piece. He often works up to twelve hours a day to complete a piece. Here's a video showing the installation in progress.

And at the end? All of the salt is returned to the sea during a public ritual called umini kaeru. It was a janitor at an exhibition in South Carolina that thought it was tragic to simply throw the piece away and suggested a ritual should take place.

See more of Yamamoto's works on his website. His work can be seen right now in the US, at the Laband Gallery at Layola Marymount College in Los Angeles until December 7th. I feel honored to have visited his hometown ten years ago in Kanazawa, Japan. A beautiful town by the sea, I can see how this city could have inspired him.

Artist : Jean Shin

One of the consistent questions people ask when they see my new Land Grab series is "How do you plan to show the work?" I always answer "Just like you see it, on the floor or on the wall." This answer always leads to raised eyebrows. Not in a frame or on a canvas? A lot of artists chose to create installations because it really is the best way to present their idea behind their work.

Alterations, 1999.

And hence, I'd like to make my point that there is a LOT of great, mind blowing art that isn't 'framed' or uses only one medium. I found a great artist to share with you who wrecks those entire notions: Jean Shin. I found her work after reading Lari's blog about this artist, who mentions Jean as a major inspiration in her work. I wasn't sure at first, what those blue 'vases' were in the photo above. Until I saw this.

Alterations, 1999.

Clever and amazing.

Hide Series, 2004.

The above materials are made up of leather and suede shoes and shoelaces. Let me just say, Jean is all over the map with her materials, which is her point. But it all works, it all makes sense for each of its' subjects.

In her own words:

By transforming accumulations of everyday objects into visually alluring conceptual explorations, my work speaks to the optimism inherent in giving new form to life’s leftovers.  In my sculptures and large-scale installations, I seek to recall an object’s past, as well as suggest its greater connection to our collective memories, desires and failures.

- Jean Shin

I tend to have a weakness for artists who use repetition in their work. She has a way of placing the pieces in such a way that they almost breath with the lives of the past owners. I love this piece.

Stepping Stones (Pots and Pans), 2007.

Putting the everyday object in an unexpected location can completely turn around the meaning of a piece. In the case above, from a cooking pot to a musical instrument.

Chemical Balance, 2005-9.

What happens to all those pill bottles we leave behind every year in our overuse of medications. The title tells it all, Chemical Balance.

See more of Jean Shin's work at her website. Jean was featured along with her co-designer, Brian Ripple, in The Boston Globe for their "Retreat" installation at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, MA.

Upcoming Show : Retooled/Repackaged in Detroit

Four of my Foreclosure Quilts will be in an upcoming show in Detroit, Michigan entitled Retooled/Repackaged. The exhibition coincides with the Great Lakes Bioneers Conference at Marygrove College. And guess what? The Detroit Foreclosure Quilt will be included in the show. Detroit in Detroit, how apt.

Detroit Foreclosure Quilt, 2011.

The artwork chosen for the exhibition makes statements on the environment, the green movement and ecological issues. I'm still waiting to hear back on the final list of artists, three of us for sure, perhaps two more. I'll repost with names once everyone is confirmed.

Marygrove College gallery space.

The exhibition runs from October 19 – November 21, 2012 with the opening reception on Friday October 19th from 5 - 8. Here's a link to the gallery where the work will be featured, it sure looks like a fantastic space. If you're at all near Detroit, head on over and check it out!

Interview with Polly Leonard of Selvedge Magazine

I had the amazing opportunity a few weeks ago to interview Editor in Chief, Polly Leonard, of Selvedge Magazine for Handful of Salt.

Image courtesy of Selvedge Magazine.

I walked away from the phone interview full of ideas about the bigger picture of craft in the art world. Polly is one of those people who is able to stand back and see the big picture in the world of textiles.

Image courtesy of Selvedge Magazine.

A very inspiring person to talk to! And the latest copy of the magazine just arrived in my mailbox last week. Head on over to Handful of Salt to read the full interview.

Artist : Michele Michael of Elephant Ceramics

Short story: a stylist is on the hunt for nice ceramics. She doesn't find what she's looking for so she sets about making them herself. Enter Michele Michael and the birth of Elephant Ceramics.

I have yet to come across anything like Michele's work; it's simple, bold and sensual. The most powerful element has to be color with a capitol C. She clearly enjoys working with strong tones of teals and blues, using glazes as a loose gesture.

And then the absence of color becomes a powerful contrast to texture.

I love the way she seems to listen and respond to her craft. Now that I've worked a little in ceramics, I can see how she might have been inspired by the texture of the canvas when rolling out the slab.

Image by Jennifer Causey as part of The Makers Project.

The pieces play so well alongside textiles. I love how they're paired with Marimekko fabric here.

Her glazes are a loose gesture, she has an almost painterly approach to them. She simply lets nature do the hard work and goes with the result. At least that's what it looks like. I suspect it's much harder to achieve.

You can find Elephant Ceramics here. Jennifer Causey created a beautiful photo shoot of Michele at work in her studio as part of The Makers Project. And for a little house tour (who doesn't love peeking into artists' homes?), Remodelista featured her home here. Lovely.

Artist : Suzanne Sullivan

There are so many talented and creative ceramicists out there these days. Back in March, Paula Greif emailed me with a list of some great talent and introduced me to Suzanne Sullivan's work. Thank you, Paula!

I instantly fell in love with all of Suzanne's work. The simple geometric patterns contrast beautifully with the rough, hand formed surfaces. And look, she has an addiction to spoons too! Why do we love them so? Her's are wonderful. I wish I had one of these when I was enjoying my red kuri soup the other day. The dark pieces would have played off wonderfully with the bright orange.

Here are some recent pieces that came out of Suzanne's kiln in May. All stunners.

Paula mentioned that Suzanne also makes quilts. She knows what I love. Suzanne's partner, the writer Robert Sullivan, published a book entitled "My American Revolution". Suzanne responded to his writing by making historical quilts that reflect his words.

From what I can see, they are stunning. I love imagining the creative conversations between the two while the works were being created. Collaborations are beautiful things to witness, aren't they?

To see more of Suzanne's work, visit her visual blog The Wide Prospect. A Public Space printed Robert's writings and Suzanne's quilts in an article entitled "Almanac" here. You can find Suzanne's work at Mociun in Brooklyn.

New post on Fibershed over at Handful of Salt

I've got a new article about the Bay Area Fibershed project over at Handful of Salt. Head on over and check it out here.

Founder Rebecca Burgess wears an indigo dyed tunic hand knit by Heidi Iverson
using Sally Fox cotton. Image by Paige Green Photography.

Learn more about the Fibershed project here. Update: Thank you Ronnie for the links to these amazing podcasts on the project here and here.

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.