Keeping On: More Exhibiting Artist Features

“Keeping On” shares how GAC instructors have engaged with their art to help them “keep on” during this time of the pandemic, or even how they have struggled, or changed creatively. Featured works include ceramics, painting, drawing, fiber art, metals, and sculpture by members of our 50 person faculty. This exhibit is up in the gallery through March 27. Admission is free and open to the community. Open W-F, 12-4pm, Sat 10am-4pm.

 

We’re sharing artist works and statements over the coming weeks. Enjoy!

 

“I started making zoomorphic pots a year and half ago after a student brought me a newspaper clipping featuring Eastern European Neolithic pots with legs. Making these pots reminds me of the inspirational spark teaching can strike for both students and teachers. I miss the class room. Snug in my winter studio practice, I keep the thread of connection alive by crunching through the stacks of ideas. Still, I miss the class room.”

 

“I’m again reminded that painting is home for me.”

 

“The blade is made up of 21 alternating steel layers to get the black/silver effect. It’s then manipulated to create “stripes” going down the curvy blade to represent the tiger tail. The guard and pommel are forged from old wrought iron anchor chain that has been highly polished and etched to reveal the beautify of the layers in the wrought iron. The handle is a traditional European style construction using a cord wrapped wood core with a very thin leather wrapped over it. This is then bound with cord and left to dry to imprint the texture of the cord on the surface of the leather to aid in grip. The entire sword weighs in at 3 lbs. A reflection on uncertain times past and present … best to be prepared, but look good doing it.”

 

 

“When beginning this collage, I saw among the many pictures I had saved, an illustration that looked similar to the Corona virus. I never start a collage with an idea of what I want to use…I let the materials draw me to them. There were a lot of oriental rug photos and mosaic work from churches among the collection. Soon I was thinking in terms of using mandalas as a theme.

 

Making a mandala is a source of healing and wholeness. As a spiritual and ritual symbol, they are used in Hinduism and Buddhism. Mandala, in Sanskrit, means life is never ending and everything is connected. Mandalas exist everywhere. The circle, with a center, is the basic structure found in nature. Cells have nuclei, atoms are circles and eyes are circles. Life IS a circle in many ways.”

 

“I love being a potter in the continuum of potters throughout human history who make useful pots that express both the sensuous fluidity of clay and a purposeful energy.  My pots reflect the importance of the small rituals of everyday life: images of mugs of coffee cradled in the early morning, a cereal bowl held aloft by a toddler intent upon draining the last drops of milk from the bottom, aromatic, steaming baking dishes full of macaroni and cheese, eggplant parmigiana, and apple crisp brought proudly to the table, and large handled platters laden with meat and vegetables swooped upon hungrily by our college women’s swim team. My pots are a part of the sublimely mundane life of my family, and I am honored when you choose them to be a part of your special everyday moments.

 

Lately, my responsibilities to family, and the restrictions of the pandemic, have curtailed much of the actual making of my pots in my studio.  I have been re-focused on the simple pleasures of using of my work as I spend more time making and drinking hot tea, hot chocolate, and coffee from my mugs with cocooned family, baking and cooking in my casseroles and baking dishes, and serving nutritious meals including colorful salads, and full-bodied soups in my bowls and dinner plates.  I am seeing first-hand the positive and comforting effects of being surrounded by useful and beautiful objects that bring me, and those I love, comfort in a difficult time. The fact that I created these beloved objects brings me joy. They will still be comforting in “normal” times, and we long for that time as well.” 

 

 

“Whatever it takes to finish things, finish. You will learn more from a glorious failure than you ever will from something you never finished.” ~Neil Gaiman

 

“As the pandemic drags on, I have found energy and solace in working with my hands. Given ongoing family and work responsibilities, however, I have not necessarily found myself with tons of extra time. My solution has been to focus on half-finished projects. In bringing several (but not all) incomplete projects to a conclusion during a very unsettled time, I have learned more about my own artistic practice and my ability to roll with imperfection and chance.”   

 

“2020 has been a challenge to say the least. For myself, however some good has come out of the isolation of quarantine. When I wasn’t feeling connected in person I was connecting online. I learned how to teach online and met some wonderful students. One student in particular comes to mind as she wasn’t able to take classes with GAC normally because she lives in Hawaii. If I wasn’t teaching online I would never have met her and we’ve become friends, even exchanging art through the mail. Also, the quarantine has allowed me more time in the studio and more time to experiment with new and old ideas. I’ve always made dolls but never like this. This fiber doll sculpture is a result of that experimentation and the need to express my thoughts. Keepin’ On is the perfect name for this show because it’s been a year of keepin’ on and reflecting on what’s really important in life.” 

 

Enjoy this quick video tour that provides an overview of the entire show.

• Virtual Gallery: Keeping On
• Guilford Poets Guild and the Guilford Art Center Present Ekphrastic Poems in March

The GAC gallery is open Wednesday – Friday, 12:00-4:00pm and Saturdays 10:00 am-4:00pm. The gallery is free and open to the community. Mask wearing and social distancing is required upon entry. Click here for more information