Strata Studio

I was interviewed by Tammy Vitale for her blog: http://tammyvitale.com/ Here are the answers that I provided for her very inquisitive questions.

How many ArtOMatics have you done, and if more than 1, what keeps you coming back? This my first ArtOMatic.

Describe what you’ll be showing this year. How did you choose what to show at ArtOMatic? I’m showing ceramic wings and nests. My work represents several years of experimenting. I started by making the wings when my father was dying of cancer. They are a symbol of transition and journey. It was very hard to watch him suffer. Making the wings gave me time to pause and reflect about him. After he died, I became fascinated with birds’ nests. I studied their structure and began making ceramic twigs. The wings and twigs are fired in communal wood fire kilns. To me, they are a form of kinetic art, because some of the component parts are not fixed, and I can arrange and re-arrange them as the works evolve.

When my friend Matt MacIntire told me about Artomatic, I wanted to display the wings and integrate some of them into nests. You can see that one of the nests has wings as part of the structure. It also has pieces of prayer cards from the funerals of my father and my grandfathers, as well as notes written to my father in Czech. It is a true homage to a great man.

Like a real osprey nest, my ceramic piece also includes trash that was gathered on a beach along the Patuxent River. My dad loved nature and in particular the Patuxent. I think he would be happy with that nest because it brings attention to environmental issues and the health of the river and the bay.

Where can one find you this year? I am on the 9th floor, north side with a view of the Capitol and the Jefferson Memorial, truly a lovely place for the nests to reside.

Why should a visitor make a special trip to visit your space? The space is lovely, calm and reflective, especially in the daytime, when you can see the Jefferson Memorial and the Capitol in the background. How long have you been making art? What do you do when/if you hit a slump? I have been making art all of my life, but I have not shared my work for years. I taught elementary and middle school art for 20 years, so that took up a lot of my creative energy. Now I am focused on my own work. So far, no slumps. Only a shortage of time to get all of my ideas executed.

Who are your favorite artists and what inspiration do you draw from them? I love contemporary art like much of the work at Artomatic and I enjoy ancient Chinese and Japanese ceramic art. Seeing new ideas and the innovative use of material is always inspiring to me. But I also, like to study the work of clay masters like those from the Song Dynasty.

Have you had a chance to look around ArtOMatic yet this year? Do you have any instant favorites? any returning favorites? My fellow Burnt Earth artists, Beth Pitcher, Matt MacIntire, Kirsty Little and Julie Zirlin all have wonderful ceramic art on display. I also love the work of Brittany Sims on the 2nd floor and Gary Irby and Melissa Burley on 11.

Where else can we see your work? I will have one of my nests in the “Shape of Things” ceramics show at The Popcorn Gallery at Glen Echo in June. It’s a great show, stop by! www.burntearth.net, www.stratastudio.blogspot.com


Special I love your work questions: Can you tell me a little about how you arrived at the theme in your nests? The nests seemed to make sense of the work I had been doing with the wings. It was a natural progression. I think they complete the circle of life theme.

Is the wings installation a part of the nest theme or is it separate, and what took you into that exploration? The wings were first. They led to the nests.

What do you want people to take away with them after interacting/viewing, if anything? I hope people can find peace when they look at the wings, especially if they have been through a difficult loss of someone they loved.

How long have you been working with clay and do you always do work that runs in themes or do you just follow whatever energy is coming through at the moment? I have been working with clay for about 10 years, but only recently have I begun to focus on using clay for sculpture. I think it is hard to determine whether the theme or the energy controls my work. I am always thinking about creating; sometimes it is just more subconscious.

How does working in a collaborative environment feed you and your art? The group Burnt Earth has been extremely influential on my work. We are always learning from each other. Several of us fire our work together so we are invested in successfully bringing mud/clay through the brutal firing process to make our art. I really appreciate their feedback.

What advice would you offer beginning clay artists (or any clay artist) about the business side of your art? Join a guild. There you will find support from like-minded folks.