Sunday, January 3, 2010

Good News New Year


A Healthy Happy and Holy New Year to everyone!

We have moved. We are healing. We are here. The holidays can be emotionally draining, but our New Year begins on some high notes:

The grant Lee and I applied for from ArtsNB was accepted. The project includes firing our new bourrigama and preparing for our 2-person show at Gallery 78--One Hundred figures and The Buddha, opening in July of this year.

And I just received word that my proposal to write and present a paper on Intuitive Woodfiring for the First International European Woodfire Conference in September 2010 in Broellin, Germany, has been accepted. I will be writing and presenting the paper with help from Lee, and all four of us will be heading to Germany: myself, Lee, Horus and our new baby, who will be 1 month old at the time of the conference. Hijinks ensue!

Future plans are made manifest through daily practice.

All we need is an LED lightbulb in the new studio. Our wheels are next to each other, mine and Lee's. I am using a disastrously awkward, (new [to me]) wooden-framed kickwheel while I wait for my friend Julia, a talented woodworker, to handcraft my Korean-style wheel. We each have a window and shelves. Lee did a creative job of installing the Jotul woodstove in the corner next to my wheel. The space is tiny, and cozy.

We have no refrigerator; we had been using the porch as a cold room. Now, with the entranceway insulated and wood-warm, we have moved the cooler and vegetable bin outside.

We have had very little sun lately, and there were only a couple of bright days over Christmas, so we haven't had much power for lightbulbs and laptop power-ups, let alone laundry. We are tied, not unpleasantly, to the rhythm of meals made on the wood cook stove, trips to the well outside for drinking water. Its taste is slightly sulfuric, not that I mind: it is unfluoridated, chlorine-free, and clean. So many in the world do not have this luxury. We are lucky.

We will be firing the bourrigama as soon as possible, in a matter of days. The snow is a reality, but the temp will dip into the -20s (celcius) about a week from now, so we will aim to start loading on Wednesday. The flame will warm.

Lee and I will both be making figures. And also whiskey cups, glasses, coffee mugs, yunomi, guinomi, tokkuri, and plates. A few larger vases, as well. And chawan.

I have made some resolutions for the new year. I will be 29 years old on the 28th. I went through a period of practicing yoga for a couple of hours a day, and I would like to resume that. And I would like to be meticulous and regular in my art-making. With fervour. And feeling.

Walnut is our fuel this firing. We found a source of free scrap walnut in one-inch by one-inch sticks, no splitting required, from a local hardwood company. Some we have saved for butcher blocks in our new house. We have heard of walnut burning with a green flame. It is a highly resinous wood. We could see much glaze variation. Exciting.

I am consumed by Shino dreams. Shino is a traditional woodfiring glaze, whose primary ingredient is feldspar, a benign naturally occurring rock, based in either sodium or potassium. The effect of shino fired in a wood kiln is magical. Rather than imparting colour to the clay, shino is utterly sensitive and reactive to the heat, the flame, and the ash. A shino will interact between the inherent minerals in the clay, as well as atmospheric conditions in the particular spot in which the piece was placed in the kiln. Even at the back, in cooler areas, the shino's effect is icy, sparkling and precious. I am generally uninterested in glaze, but shino is in a rubrick all its own. Rather than mask with preordained colour or texture, shino reveals; itself, the character of the piece, formal elements, a jewel-like luminosity, the shadows of trapped carbon.

Anticipation.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Artist of the Day !!!


I am so honoured to be featured on Carole Epp's fantastic blog as one of December's Artists of the Day! And I am in *amazing* company. I love this series for the diversity of work--from abstract sculptural pieces to figurative work, to delicate functional porcelain and more and more and more! Take a look at Carole's blog and you will probably be there for hours...She also posts calls for entry and other goodies, so it's a great place to visit often.

The image above is of a fellow Artist of the Day Laura Cooper's work, delicate, rough, introspective, beautiful.

Yolande



Friday, December 4, 2009

Come to our Presentation on Intuitive Woodfiring the Clark Way!


Lee and Yolande Clark will be giving a presentation on Intuitive Woodfiring on Monday December 7th, at 7:30pm at the Carnegie Gallery in Dundas Ontario. We will be discussing our method of firing our 27 foot long "Little River Anagama" without glaze, cones or pyrometers, as well as the evolution of our process, Lee's early experiences building the first incarnation of the hikarigama, the renovation of the anagama last spring, the influence of Shiho Kanzaki on our work, and the construction of our new "Bourrigama" which we completed in November 2009. We will be showing some photos, and a selection of our unglazed, natural-ash ceramics in the flesh! We will also be sharing some excerpts from Claude Gagnon's excellent documentary on Shiho Kanzaki (featuring Lee!).

Come and join us if you have the chance. We'd love to see you there. Refreshments will be served!

Carnegie Gallery
10 King Street
Dundas, Ontario

for more information, please call 1 506 392-7917.

Yo & Lee

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Hannun Lyn: Porcelain Goddess...And other Goodies from One-of-a-Kind Toronto


There are so many other wonderful artists at this show, its hard to know where to begin, but I'll give you the low-down on my favourite picks:


Hannun Lyn is last year's winner of the Gardiner Ceramic Museum Award. She makes stunningly spare, minimal and sublimely deconstructed porcelain ceramic art, sculptural and functional. Gas-fired, mostly, translucent magic. I am not a fan of teapots, generally. I *love* Hannun's teapots. She also does pristine large vase forms, and *gorgeous* installations that are thought-provoking and visually stunning.




Above: Hannun Lyn's beautiful hand-caned porcelain tea set.


Hoi-bo is the name of my friend Sarra's company. She makes intensely beautiful, meticulously crafted bags, clothing and accessories, from leather and hand-waxed canvas. She sells her work internationally as well as from her studio in the distillery district. Examine a mass-produced big-box bag, and then take a glance at a Hoi-bo purse. The difference is orders of magnitude. Sarra is the real deal, and her style Is. Right. On.


Sarra's sister Hoi-An is a visual artist who works under the name Me-Hoi. She makes paintings, drawings and graphics printed on buttons and other accessories. Her work is fabulous, funny, fresh and sweet.


Sarra and Hoi are pretty much the most hilarious, supportive, and friendly cool kids ever.


A few days ago a made an excellent trade consisting of two woodfired teabowls for a handcrafted-in-Quebec, cherry and walnut wood Tamboa--What, you ask? A Tamboa is a box-shaped musical instrument--similar in spirit to the marimba, and similarly played with rubber mallets. The sound is sweet, low, mellow and groovy. Don't tell Horus, but this low-tech, hand-made, slow-food tune machine will be his Christmas present. Little boy has mad rhythm. And I won't mind hearing him practicing on a tamboa all day long.


Oh dear. There are so many more artists and crafters I'm missing. I will post some more reviews soon!


Until then, happy shopping everyone, and don't forget to come and visit us if you're in town, we're booth E-22.


Shop Art, Shop Local, Shop Hand-made!


love,

yo




Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Yikes

Yeah, I almost edited out the little addendum of bitterness in my last post. But I leave it in, as evidence of my imperfections.

Please, let me emphasize that you (YOU!), and your support, kind friends in eastern provinces, family, fellow artists, et al. have been instrumental in giving us the courage and determination to keep working, firing, showing, trying. Who could ask for more? Challenges bring opportunity.

And *everyone* pays their dues one way or another.

I love the sense of community at this show, massive as it is. Among all the artisans, and our fellow ceramic artists especially, there is full acknowledgement of the diversity of our work, and a real sense of co-operation not competition.

I like this. I like seeing established artists who are willing to support the younger generation. I vow to strive to be more of an ambassador of goodwill and inclusiveness in the maritimes. Go independents, go risk-takers. Go Fredericton Crafters.

ok.

love,
yo


Tuesday, December 1, 2009

One of a Kind Top Five


Firebox Tsubo: Fired for 9 days in the Little River Anagama, then another 4 days in our new Bourrigama.



We did it. We built the kiln, we fired the kiln, we fired the kiln again. I had a bit of a meltdown prior to leaving, but somehow we managed to unload, finish the natural-ash glazed vessels and figures, as well as the shino work. On razor's edge, we packed the truck and hit the road.

And now, we are here: back in fabulous shiny happy happening glittery art-abundant Toronto.

It is now day 6 of the One of a Kind show in Toronto, and I finally have a moment to post an update on what continues to be a pretty stellar experience. This is our first year at the show, and we really weren't sure what to expect. There are hundreds of artisans with work ranging from the sparkly to the sublime, and I have to admit, the whole scene was pretty daunting at first. We were awarded a "New Artist Scholarship" for 50% of the cost of a huge 10x20 foot booth. We set up with our usual 3" thick pine board shelves that make up our clean and minimal display, and went to town.

So far, the response to our work has been phenomenal. Lee's large pieces are stunning as usual, and one lovely couple walked away with one of the most beautiful firebox cover jars from the second firing of our Bourrigama. My buddhas have been selling like hotcakes, and Allison, our lovely dealer from Distill Gallery came to visit with the message that the buddhas and tokkuri we had left at Distill during our last visit to Toronto had sold out! Yesterday, I was approached by the Creative Director of a large design firm, with a possible project idea...I will keep you posted!

It was wonderful to be able to let the charming Frank Tucker (of Tucker's Pottery Supply) know in person how reliable, fabulous and beautiful, his Tucker's MCS porcelain really is, in the Anagama. He was totally blown away that MCS stands up to the kind of heat we create in the Little River Kiln. He left pleased, I think, and in possession of one of my sweet guinomi, (MCS, of course) and Lee's one and only (so far) local Carleton County clay tokkuri. Thanks Frank!

Yesterday, we found out that we were nominated among the top 5 booths at the entire Toronto show. Thank you One of a Kind Wizards! We are truly honoured.

And I just got word that one of my buddha sculptures will be featured tomorrow morning on Toronto's CityTV. Wowzer.

Horus is having a blast. His phrase of the month is "Oh Yeeaah". Oh yeah indeed baby-o.

PS: Dear New Brunswick, Dear New Brunswick Craft Council, Dear Nova Scotia Designer Craft Council: Thank you. If not for your consistent rejection, I might not be in Toronto, getting kudos, acknowledgement and respect. To the friends and fellow artists in NB and NS who have been behind us all the way: Eternal Love and Respect. You know who you are.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Kapala Skull Cup


I have received an unusual and exciting commission. A Tibetan Buddhist practitioner and fellow artist has approached me to make a woodfired porcelain Kapala Skull Cup. The Kapala Skull, in the Tibetan and Hindu traditions, is a cup, made from a human skull, or a representation of a human skull made from metal, wood or other materials. The cup is often shown in Tibetan paintings, held or carried by a deity (in this case, Lady Yeshe Tsogyal) in the left hand, to represent sacrifice, creation, destruction and empowerment. The cup is used for sacred rituals, offerings and ceremony.


I am deeply honoured to take on this project. I can't think of a more appropriate medium for such an item, than woodfired porcelain. I will be using either "Frost" or "Southern Ice" porcelain, the purest of clays. This piece will be fired in the next few days, and I will be placing it close to the firebox. Over the course of the firing, the piece will be literally and metaphorically cleansed by the fire, and the flame and ash will wash over the piece, imbuing it with the energy of our intention. The ash from the burning wood will land on the piece, and the wood ash will melt, intermingling with the natural chemicals in the porcelain, to create an intrinsic, glaze, the depth and quality of which are appropriate for such a holy item.