Established in 1971, Ink & Clay is an annual competition of printmaking, drawing, ceramic ware, clay sculpture and mixed media utilizing any variety of "ink" or "clay" as a material. The exhibition is sponsored by the W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and is underwritten by the generosity of the late Col. James "Jim" H. Jones with additional support from the Office of the University President. For the second time, Ink & Clay was open to artists working in all 50 states, making this a National Competition! The exhibition is documented through an online catalog and a printable PDF file. Unique among juried exhibitions, Ink & Clay is celebrated by artists and collectors, both locally and nationally, for its quality and diversity.
This year's jurors Phyllis Green, Dave Lefner and Jeannie Denholm - worked very thoughtfully to select the artworks for this year's exhibition. Green's work has been exhibited extensively in exhibitions nationally and internationally and is respected in the artword for her mixed media ceramic sculptures and assemblages. For over 20 years, Lefner has dedicated himself to preserving and perfecting what seems to be the dying artform of reduction block printing as is renowned for his pop and urban landscape prints. Denholm has been active in the art business for over 30 years and has an extensive background assisting corporations and private collectors with art acquisitions, collection management and curatorial services. Of over 208 submissions, 80 artworks were selected.
Phyllis Green, Dave Lefner and Jeannie Denholm worked very thoughtfully to select the artworks for this year's exhibition. Green's work has been exhibited extensively in exhibitions nationally and internationally and is respected in the artword for her mixed media ceramic sculptures and assemblages.
Established in 1971, Ink & Clay is an annual competition of printmaking, drawing, ceramic ware, clay sculpture and mixed media utilizing any variety of "ink" or "clay" as a material.
Jurors
Jeannie Denholm has been active in the art business for over 30 years and has an extensive background assisting corporations and private collectors with art acquisitions, collection management and curatorial services. She worked for The Broad Art Foundation as Assistant Curator for Special Collections from 1993-2003. She established Southern California Art Projects and Exhibitions (SCAPE) in Corona Del Mar, CA in 2003 where she continues her work today as co-owner, curator of exhibitions and private art advisor. Her educational background includes a Bachelor's Degree (BA) in Art History, graduate studies in Art History at York University in Toronto, Canada, and a Master's Degree (MA) in Museum Studies and Exhibition Design from California State University, Fullerton. Denholm is a Board Member and Vice-Chair of Programs for the Phyllis and Ross Escalette Permanent Collection of Art at Chapman University. She is often an invited guest speaker on the arts, taught Professional Studies for senior graduating students at the Laguna College of Art and Design, and has been a guest curator for a number of public exhibitions.
Raised in Canada, Phyllis Green moved to California to pursue graduate studies in art. In 1978, her work was exhibited in the 4th Annual Ink and Clay exhibition. She received an MFA from UCLA in 1981, and began her professional career as an artist, educator and curator in Los Angeles. Her practice integrates gender politics, the sphere of craft and influences of Modernism. Green is primarily an object maker who represents the body. Over thirty years, these bodily surrogates have taken the form of skeletal fragments, organs and containers. She often incorporates clay with other materials to create mixed media sculpture and installations. Green’s work has been exhibited extensively in exhibitions nationally and internationally, including From Head to Toe: Concepts of the Body in 20th Century Art, Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity, both at LACMA, and Fiction@Love at MOCA, Shanghai. A survey exhibition titled Splendid Entities: 25 Years of Objects by Phyllis Green was presented at Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles in 2011. She is the recipient of individual artist's fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation; and was among the first group of artists to be awarded a C.O.L.A. grant by the City of Los Angeles in 1996. She produced and hosted a radio show on the visual arts, LOOK/ hear, on KXLU: 88.9FM from 1996 to 1998. She was appointed to the Santa Monica Arts Commission in 2000, and elected Chair from 2004 to 2006. Green served as Guest Curator for Scripps College 64th Ceramic Annual in 2008. In 2010, she received project grants from the City of Santa Monica and the Durfee Foundation. She was named a Fellow in Fine Arts by The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 2014. Green has lectured in colleges and universities worldwide and has held teaching positions at UCLA and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is currently an adjunct faculty at the Roski School of Art and Design at USC and Deputy Director of The Christopher Isherwood Foundation.
Dave Lefner is a native-born Angelino, who, for the last 15 years, has lived and worked in his studio at The Brewery, the world’s largest artist colony. He received a BA in Art from California State University Northridge, where he discovered a love of typography and its many faces, the graphic prints of the German expressionists of the 1940s, and, his biggest inspiration, Picasso’s series of linocuts from the 1950s.His work reflects the beauty for the city that surrounds him with a nostalgia for its aging, but unique storefronts, signage and architecture from all areas of Los Angeles including the Valley, glamorous Hollywood, and especially his current home in Downtown LA. The urban landscape, complete with its burnt-out, broken neon signs, its faded and peeling movie posters and billboards, its web of power-lines and telephone wires overhead, and the occasional intricately-painted graffiti piece serve as the perfect inspiration for his detailed, very limited-edition, reduction linoleum block prints.For over twenty years, Lefner has dedicated himself to preserving and perfecting what seems to be the dying art form of reduction block printing. Because of the immediacy of today’s world, this technique is being lost in the face of a digital age. But it is the mystery of this labor-intensive process that intrigues him most. There is no room for error as the piece slowly reveals itself through a series of carving/printing stages from a singe block of linoleum. To him, the journey is definitely as important as the destination.
Images top to Bottom: Photo Portrait of Jeannie Denholm, Photo Portrait of Phyllis Green, Photo Portrait of Dave Lefner
Exhibited Works
Exhibited Works
Exhibited Works
David Avery
A Ticket to Ride...
Artwork Name
David Avery
A Ticket to Ride..., 2011
etching
5 x 12”
Courtesy of the artist
Artist Statement:
We seem to live in an age where words, images and objects have been looted of meaning. So I have come to think of the etchings I make as being miniature Rorschachs, acting upon the experiences and senses of both the careful viewer and the artist. Even a simple nursery rhyme, once you start picking at it, will reveal layer upon layer of associations and further meanings. And so, I find myself both consciously and unconsciously striving towards images recep- tive to being endowed with meaning, those able to engender a capacity for receptivity to the mysterious and the ambivalent.
David Avery
Safe, Clean, Cheap-Phaeton in the 21st Century
Safe, Clean, Cheap-Phaeton in the 21st Century
David Avery
Safe, Clean, Cheap-Phaeton in the 21st Century, 2011
Etching
6” x 6”
Artist Statement:
We seem to live in an age where words, images and objects have been looted of meaning. So I have come to think of the etchings I make as being miniature Rorschachs, acting upon the experiences and senses of both the careful viewer and the artist. Even a simple nursery rhyme, once you start picking at it, will reveal layer upon layer of associations and further meanings. And so, I find myself both consciously and unconsciously striving towards images receptive to being endowed with meaning, those able to engender a capacity for receptivity to the mysterious and the ambivalent.
David Avery
Abstracting the Quintessence
Abstracting the Quintessence
David Avery
Abstracting the Quintessence, 2012
Etching
8 x 4"
Artist Statement:
We seem to live in an age where words, images and objects have been looted of meaning. So I have come to think of the etchings I make as being miniature Rorschachs, acting upon the experiences and senses of both the careful viewer and the artist. Even a simple nursery rhyme, once you start picking at it, will reveal layer upon layer of associations and further meanings. And so, I find myself both consciously and unconsciously striving towards images receptive to being endowed with meaning, those able to engender a capacity for receptivity to the mysterious and the ambivalent.
Mariko Bird
Ova Ova 3
Ova Ova 3
Mariko Bird Ova Ova 3, 2013 Stoneware 10"h x 7.5"w x 8"d
Artist Statement: A mountain ridge, clouds, the bark of trees, sea creatures, a rock wall, ripples on the lake, skyscrapers and Romanesque buildings – these are just a few of the things that intrigue me. I try to recreate my impressions of them in clay, but at the same time being careful not simply to imitate them. I explore and experiment with form, texture and color to come up with something that is my own. I hand-build all of my work, and plan to continue to create pieces that have an organic feel or architectural elements. It is exciting and humbling at the same time to realize that there are infinite possibilities in working with clay.
Caroline Blackburn
No. 262
No. 262
Caroline Blackburn No. 262, 2014 Clay, High-Fire 20"h x 12"w x 12"d
Artist Statement: Caroline Blackburn, based in Los Angeles creates vessels that explore her interest in abstract painting, architecture, fashion, and nature. Trained as a painter her work focuses on bringing a freshness and immediacy to each piece through color, form, surface, and texture. Every work is highly considered whether it is thrown on a wheel, hand built, or a combination of both techniques.
Glazes perform at a level that engages the viewer in an abstract skin generated through the glazing process. She juxtaposes color, texture, and drawing using a variety of materials to accomplish a painterly surface including ceramic pencil, slip, oxide, or glaze creating a sublime effect, reflecting phenomenon found in nature. Color plays a significant role in the work.
Caroline has developed glazes that are versatile whether used opaquely, transparently or ones that create cratering or pitting on the surface. When she glazes a work she approaches it as a canvas. She may first apply a slip, draw on the work with a ceramic pencil, and then hand-paint each piece with a variety of brushes to accomplish a painterly effect.
While investigating an interest in plasticity the work produces a continual shift between surface, texture, color, and object. Each vessel provides a contemporary sense of life that is very personal and universal at the same time. Caroline received a MFA from Art Center College of Design and a BFA from Boston College.
Nubia Bonilla
Eusebia y las Hijas de Don Antonio
Eusebia y las Hijas de Don Antonio
Nubia Bonilla Eusebia y las Hijas de Don Antonio, 2014 Saggar 27"h x 13"w x 7"d
Artist Statement: As an anthropologist and visual artist, my field work in ergological folklore took me to different groups of potters not only in my country but also in Chile, Mexico and Haiti. I was affected by the same simple vessels that were used in everyday life and for religious rituals. Their use of Raku, Saggar, Barrel and Pit firing fascinated me. Their vessels were more than just pots, they told stories, and they were timeless and universal.
I have always derived pleasure from creating something with my hands; my work derives from my passion with clay, the simple forms, the playful parts, the subtle balance and contrasts in color and texture. My ceramics contain a short history through their creation and production process, every piece has its own origin and evolution, its own story full of symbols and contrasts.
My long trajectory in the investigation of indo-Afro-American groups has given her the opportunity to develop my unique style in the design of my artwork.
Nubia Bonilla
Carabali Family
Carabali Family
Nubia Bonilla Carabali Family, 2013 Saggar 24"h x 5"w x 5.5"d
Artist Statement:
As an anthropologist and visual artist, my field work in ergological folklore took me to different groups of potters not only in my country but also in Chile, Mexico and Haiti. I was affected by the same simple vessels that were used in everyday life and for religious rituals. Their use of Raku, Saggar, Barrel and Pit firing fascinated me. Their vessels were more than just pots, they told stories, and they were timeless and universal.
I have always derived pleasure from creating something with my hands; my work derives from my passion with clay, the simple forms, the playful parts, the subtle balance and contrasts in color and texture. My ceramics contain a short history through their creation and production process, every piece has its own origin and evolution, its own story full of symbols and contrasts.
My long trajectory in the investigation of indo-Afro-American groups has given her the opportunity to develop my unique style in the design of my artwork.
Nubia Bonilla
You and Me
You and Me
Nubia Bonilla You and Me, 2014 Terra Sigillata 17"h x 17"w x 8"d
Artist Statement: As an anthropologist and visual artist, my field work in ergological folklore took me to different groups of potters not only in my country but also in Chile, Mexico and Haiti. I was affected by the same simple vessels that were used in everyday life and for religious rituals. Their use of Raku, Saggar, Barrel and Pit firing fascinated me. Their vessels were more than just pots, they told stories, and they were timeless and universal.
I have always derived pleasure from creating something with my hands; my work derives from my passion with clay, the simple forms, the playful parts, the subtle balance and contrasts in color and texture. My ceramics contain a short history through their creation and production process, every piece has its own origin and evolution, its own story full of symbols and contrasts.
My long trajectory in the investigation of indo-Afro-American groups has given her the opportunity to develop my unique style in the design of my artwork.
Leslie A Brown
In the Headlights (nude)
In the Headlights (nude)
Leslie A Brown
In the Headlights (nude), 2014
Mixed Media Monoprint with Lithographic Process and Digital Photo Transfer
30 x 22"
Artist Statement:
My recent prints are the culmination of 30 years of diligent searching and experimentation to find processes that will allow the combination of my digital photographs , drawing, and printmaking and integrate them into one coherent image. Finally I feel as though the images are my own. They are no longer referential to other artist's works besides some of my heroes. It is as though my voice can now be heard through my imagery. The images relate to my fascination with the archetype and women and a personal iconography that has developed over the year.
Monica Chapon
Scrolls
Scrolls
Monica Chapon Scrolls, 2012 Porcelain & Glaze 8"h x 4"w x 4"d
Artist Statement: The act of making work and the final product are both equally important aspects of my art. I enjoy slow processes which allow me to meditate and get lost in my thoughts through the tedium while my hands stay busy and moving. My ceramic works typically portray a more abstract approach of processing emotions. The “scroll” or tubular pieces I create are dealing with the themes of loss, fragility and letting go, as well as strength and rebuilding. These pieces were created after witnessing the death of somebody in my life as a way of dealing with that sense of loss. The organic inner-skeleton of these pieces are burnt out and turned to ash in the kiln. Left behind is a hollow and fragile shell of porcelain, which is significant in capturing that moment where that inner essence or “soul” is lost. In these pieces, the process becomes the product.
Jennifer Chen
Prime Court
Prime Court
Jennifer Chen
Prime Court, April 2, 2014
Mono-Stereograph
22 x 30"
Artist Statement:
These mono-stereographs are of drawn figurative imagery juxtaposed to non-specific photographic spaces. The drawn content is selected and privileged marks and gestures of physical interaction, memory entwined within the fibers of the silhouetted garments. This work investigates associations of different spaces to objects, specifically clothing, that define culture of class, gender, and time period. Ambiguity can open up more analogies to ideas of what constitutes inside and outside, remnants and detritus, constructed and accidental. The motivation comes from a desire to understand the confinement of boarders through the seemingly molecular aspect of garments in space, or marks of memory in a photographic image, and the inexhaustible variability of chance.
David Graves
Keptkin
Keptkin
David Graves
Keptkin, 2013
Reduction Woodcut
18 x 15”
Artist Statement:
My work over the last 10 years or so has concentrated on creating what I hope are visually interesting, abstract images derived from the symbols that anthropologists use to delineate kinship and social structure.
David Graves
Le Four de Balles Rouges
Le Four de Balles Rouges
David Graves
Le Four de Balles Rouges, 2012
Reduction Woodcut
19 x 15"
Artist Statement:
My work over the last 10 years or so has concentrated on creating what I hope are visually interesting, abstract images derived from the symbols that anthropologists use to delineate kinship and social structure.
David Graves
Kinship Study: Broadcast VI
Kinship Study: Broadcast VI
David Graves
Kinship Study: Broadcast VI, 2014
Reduction Woodcut with Woodblock Transfer
16.5 x 12.5”
Artist Statement:
My work over the last 10 years or so has concentrated on creating what I hope are visually interesting, abstract images derived from the symbols that anthropologists use to delineate kinship and social structure.
Madeleine Graves
Cell Phone Girl
Cell Phone Girl
Madeleine Graves Cell Phone Girl, 2014 4"h x 11"w x 3.75"d
Artist Statement: I enjoy the process of working with clay to create vessels, then decorating these forms with patterns that I design and hand cut. The original inspiration for my designs was the Hawaiian Quilt patterns which are based on the flowers and plants of Hawaii. In recent years I’ve looked to both international designs and nature for inspiration to create patterns. The result I strive for is to make a piece that is both beautiful and functional.
Madeleine Graves
Koa Bowl
Koa Bowl
Madeleine Graves Koa Bowl, 2014 3.25"h x 11.5"w x 3"d
Artist Statement: I enjoy the process of working with clay to create vessels, then decorating these forms with patterns that I design and hand cut. The original inspiration for my designs was the Hawaiian Quilt patterns which are based on the flowers and plants of Hawaii. In recent years I’ve looked to both international designs and nature for inspiration to create patterns. The result I strive for is to make a piece that is both beautiful and functional.
Gritte
Portia
Portia
Sheila Gritte
Portia, 2013
Serigraph
14.5 x 16.75"
Artist Statement: Nature provides an ever-changing and fascinating subject for my artwork. The myriad colors displayed by nature and its creatures inspire me to create art in the attempt to evoke in the viewer the same emotional response it creates in me; feelings from peace and a sense of wonder to excitement, even exhilaration, based on the coloration of foliage and flowers. My garden is a large part of my world and it is filled with color, shapes, and textures which changes from season to season; I have only to step outside my house to discover an idea for my next print. The wonder that comes from planting a seed and tending it from sprout to blossom is almost indescribable. It is a journey, much like creating art, as it is full of possibilities and an uncertain outcome. What adversities must be overcome; will it thrive and meet its full potential? It is with the intent of sharing this excitement and joy that I create my artwork.
Mark Hendrickson
Untitled
Untitled
Mark Hendrickson Untitled, 2014 High Fired Ceramic 9"h x 9"w x 7"d
Artist Statement:
My hope is that the individual senses a blend of both the antiquated as well as the contemporary while viewing my work.
Yuji Hiratsuka
Queen Aggie Daikon
Queen Aggie Daikon
Yuji Hiratsuka
Queen Aggie Daikon, 2013
Intaglio
36 x 24"
Artist Statement:
Although my artwork is mainly considered representational, I deal with more metaphorical aspects rather than realistic physical evidence. The human body along with other elements: garments, fruit, vegetables, furniture, animals, etc. have been my focus. The images bear a slight resemblance to traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, but also express contemporary aspects of the Western Hemisphere.
The enigmatic figures I draw are reflections of human conditions such as; wry, satire, whimsy, irony, paradox or the mismatches that happen often in people’s daily lives. My figures also employ a state of motion or movement suggesting an actor/actress who narrates a story in a play. The images in my intaglio prints in this exhibit are little figurines in action. They are cheerful, joyous and restless. They are all happy people.
Yuji Hiratsuka
Holly and Molly
Holly and Molly
Yuji Hiratsuka
Holly and Molly, 2012
Intaglio
36 x 24"
Artist Statement:
Although my artwork is mainly considered representational, I deal with more metaphorical aspects rather than realistic physical evidence. The human body along with other elements: garments, fruit, vegetables, furniture, animals, etc. have been my focus. The images bear a slight resemblance to traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, but also express contemporary aspects of the Western Hemisphere.
The enigmatic figures I draw are reflections of human conditions such as; wry, satire, whimsy, irony, paradox or the mismatches that happen often in people’s daily lives. My figures also employ a state of motion or movement suggesting an actor/actress who narrates a story in a play. The images in my intaglio prints in this exhibit are little figurines in action. They are cheerful, joyous and restless. They are all happy people.
Stephen Horn
Twisted, Cut, Folded, Dented Vessel
Twisted, Cut, Folded, Dented Vessel
Stephen Horn Twisted, Cut, Folded, Dented Vessel, 2012 Stoneware 2"h x 5"w x 4"d
Artist Statement:
In 1974, one of my professors at Cal State Fullerton required those of us in his graduate seminar to write a personal statement about their artistic philosophy. I did not keep a copy of mine, and all that I can remember is my last line, a quotation from Dante: “Do as the Divine: create.” At the time I was not conscious of what I (or Dante) meant by that, but it was an urge that I deeply felt. Forty years later, the meaning is clearer.
It’s about doing what comes naturally, about playing, about potential—following thoughts and impulses,seeing what happens if I try this or that, and taking a ride to somewhere unknown. It’s about learning how to stand out of the way and let the process take over. It’s a journey with no destination that brings the soul near.
I would never have imagined that I would be making the things that I make. George Ohr, the Biloxi potter,wrote at the turn of the century: “Clay follows the fingers and the fingers follow the mind.” I’m happy that I have worked and lived long enough to develop the skills needed to create these objects. And the neurons are still firing too.
Stephen Horn
Mad Potter Hat
Mad Potter Hat
Stephen Horn Mad Potter Hat, 2012 Stoneware, Toner Transfer Print 12"h x 5"w x 5"d
Artist Statement:
In 1974, one of my professors at Cal State Fullerton required those of us in his graduate seminar to write a personal statement about their artistic philosophy. I did not keep a copy of mine, and all that I can remember is my last line, a quotation from Dante: “Do as the Divine: create.” At the time I was not conscious of what I (or Dante) meant by that, but it was an urge that I deeply felt. Forty years later, the meaning is clearer.
It’s about doing what comes naturally, about playing, about potential—following thoughts and impulses,seeing what happens if I try this or that, and taking a ride to somewhere unknown. It’s about learning how to stand out of the way and let the process take over. It’s a journey with no destination that brings the soul near.
I would never have imagined that I would be making the things that I make. George Ohr, the Biloxi potter,wrote at the turn of the century: “Clay follows the fingers and the fingers follow the mind.” I’m happy that I have worked and lived long enough to develop the skills needed to create these objects. And the neurons are still firing too.
Mariko Ishii
A Breath of Spring
A Breath of Spring
Mariko Ishii
A Breath of Spring, 2014
Linocut Reduction
24 x 24”
Artist Statement:
I have been taking my theme “Dialogue with Nature”. All the time Nature inspired me with courage. I was touched my heart by trees controlled under the influence of nature.
Under this theme I use Reductive Relief, Linocut. My prints have been made from a single block that has had progressively more of the surface removed as each color is overlaid.
The first color to be gouged out was the white, wit.h light color (E.g. yellow) being printed over the rest of the image leaving the white paper where the block has been cut away. The second stage was to gouge out the areas to remain yellow and print the rest of the image in next color (E.g. green). I then removed all the areas to remain green and printed the rest in darker color and so on until finally there was very little of the block left for the final color. At the end the block was destroyed, then we call this technique suicide print.
Mariko Ishii
Sound in Quietness
Sound in Quietness
Mariko Ishii Sound in Quietness, 2014 Linocut Reduction 24”h x 24”w
Artist Statement:
I have been taking my theme “Dialogue with Nature”. All the time Nature inspired me with courage. I was touched my heart by trees controlled under the influence of nature.
Under this theme I use Reductive Relief, Linocut. My prints have been made from a single block that has had progressively more of the surface removed as each color is overlaid.
The first color to be gouged out was the white, wit.h light color (E.g. yellow) being printed over the rest of the image leaving the white paper where the block has been cut away. The second stage was to gouge out the areas to remain yellow and print the rest of the image in next color (E.g. green). I then removed all the areas to remain green and printed the rest in darker color and so on until finally there was very little of the block left for the final color. At the end the block was destroyed, then we call this technique suicide print.
exhibited-works3
exhibited-works3
Francisco "Pancho" Jiménez
Nucleus
Nucleus
Francisco "Pancho" Jiménez Nucleus, 2013 Ceramic 17"h x 17"w x 1"d
Artist Statement:
I am intrigued by the mystery of meaning that I find in ancient art, much of it in ruins, found in Mexico or other places in the world. In my art I attempt to capture that mystery, that “eternal presence” of ancient art forms, which elicit particular emotions in me that may be universal and timeless. My intention is to create art forms that bring the eternal presence of the past to the present, to inspire reflection on contemporary time and place.
Although my work takes different forms (small table top constructions, tall columns, large wall hangings or oversized heads) my intentions remain a constant. The catalyst that propels my work to take numerous forms is my desire to explore my primary medium, clay, in varied and technically challenging formats. My use of organic and geometric motifs is rooted in my belief that these forms are a universal language that is timeless-- linking the past and the future and cutting across cultures.
Francisco "Pancho" Jiménez
Passage
Passage
Francisco "Pancho" Jiménez Passage, 2012 Ceramic 10"h x 16"w x 9"d
Artist Statement:
I am intrigued by the mystery of meaning that I find in ancient art, much of it in ruins, found in Mexico or other places in the world. In my art I attempt to capture that mystery, that “eternal presence” of ancient art forms, which elicit particular emotions in me that may be universal and timeless. My intention is to create art forms that bring the eternal presence of the past to the present, to inspire reflection on contemporary time and place.
Although my work takes different forms (small table top constructions, tall columns, large wall hangings or oversized heads) my intentions remain a constant. The catalyst that propels my work to take numerous forms is my desire to explore my primary medium, clay, in varied and technically challenging formats. My use of organic and geometric motifs is rooted in my belief that these forms are a universal language that is timeless-- linking the past and the future and cutting across cultures.
Kerry Kugelman
Tinder
Kerry Kugelman
Kerry Kugelman Tinder, 2013 Ink, Acrylic, and Charcoal on Watercolor Paper 10”h x 14”w
Artist Statement:
Although I am primarily trained to work in paint, using ink and acrylic medium opens up a range of visual expression that I could not have accessed otherwise as a painter. Ink has become an integral part of my process, and its ability to disperse into organic textures that can be as detailed as diatoms, or as nebulous as interstellar clouds, evoking dynamic visions of other worlds. In depicting these worlds, I employ atmosphere and abstraction to explore mysterious landscapes that suggest aspects of time, history, and memory, and the sublime power of Nature.
Gina Lawson Egan
Totem
Totem
Gina Lawson Egan Totem, 2013 38"h x 19"w x 19"d
Artist Statement:
I make sculpture to express my thoughts about life. The more universal the elements the more I use them. The narrative that I create by adding these elements together is open for interpretation. Although I may see the sculpture in a certain light, the viewer may have another point of view and this is good.
I love working in red clay because of its color and mention to the earth. Sky and water are referenced by the use of turquoise and shades of blue. Brighter colors describe other surfaces of the sculptures that I subdue with more earth tones. I use textures and the marks from my hands to build a rich surface and give the sculptures a fossil quality that adds to the narrative.
I enjoy the freedom I have when I am making choices and working in clay. A good day in my studio happens when I am in succinct with my decisions. I work in series so that I can explore more possibilities with one idea and not feel I need to get it right with just one piece. Trial and error and a lot of looking are a big part of my routine.
Recently, I have been using animal forms in addition to the human faces in my work. Consequently, these sculptures are more playful and odd depending on the animal I have chosen. I think of these animals as personalities that we know and identify with.
Gina Lawson Egan
Krazy Wabbit
Krazy Wabbit
Gina Lawson Egan Krazy Wabbit, 2013 23"h x 13"w x 17.5"d
Artist Statement:
I make sculpture to express my thoughts about life. The more universal the elements the more I use them. The narrative that I create by adding these elements together is open for interpretation. Although I may see the sculpture in a certain light, the viewer may have another point of view and this is good.
I love working in red clay because of its color and mention to the earth. Sky and water are referenced by the use of turquoise and shades of blue. Brighter colors describe other surfaces of the sculptures that I subdue with more earth tones. I use textures and the marks from my hands to build a rich surface and give the sculptures a fossil quality that adds to the narrative.
I enjoy the freedom I have when I am making choices and working in clay. A good day in my studio happens when I am in succinct with my decisions. I work in series so that I can explore more possibilities with one idea and not feel I need to get it right with just one piece. Trial and error and a lot of looking are a big part of my routine.
Recently, I have been using animal forms in addition to the human faces in my work. Consequently, these sculptures are more playful and odd depending on the animal I have chosen. I think of these animals as personalities that we know and identify with.
Anthony Lazorko
Fast-Food Momma
Fast-Food Momma
Anthony Lazorko Fast-Food Momma, 2012 Color Woodblock 17”h x 11”w x 1”d
Artist Statement: The focus of my work has always been to depict something about the American experience, no matter how ordinary, and to say it in an aesthetic manner. The enjoyment of color, composition, and consideration of tactile surfaces all need to marry with the content. That being said, I sometimes will create a piece for its pictorial qualities in and of itself, sometimes for the technical challenge a visual idea may pose. Elements of the way things sound and smell are also meaningful to me. Visual images should bring about the “at onceness” experience that we all know and understand in an instance.
Anthony Lazorko
Xmas on the Ave
Anthony Lazorko
Anthony Lazorko Xmas on the Ave, 2012 Color Woodblock 12”h x 23”w x 1”d
Artist Statement:
The focus of my work has always been to depict something about the American experience, no matter how ordinary, and to say it in an aesthetic manner. The enjoyment of color, composition, and consideration of tactile surfaces all need to marry with the content. That being said, I sometimes will create a piece for its pictorial qualities in and of itself, sometimes for the technical challenge a visual idea may pose. Elements of the way things sound and smell are also meaningful to me. Visual images should bring about the “at onceness” experience that we all know and understand in an instance.
Echo Lew
Untitled (#1047)
Untitled (#1047)
Echo Lew
Untitled (#1047), 2014 Chinese Ink & Mixed Media 12”h x 60”w
Artist Statement:
I have been drawing for twenty-eight years. In my Zen Buddhist meditation practice, the lines bend like a reed in the breeze, or soar freely as a bird above a cliff, thousands of lines dancing in my mind. The inner world is clean, clear and full of fresh air. Thousands of lines move as a wave. The secrets of the universe are revealed. Music, especially classical symphony, also shapes these visions. I draw the feelings the music brings forth, the expansive sense of flying over mountains, rivers, and oceans. I have been an abstract drawing artist for many years, concerned with line, shape, composition and concept. The meditation allows me to expand creatively while using an ultra-contemporary art forms with limitless potential. Drawing for me is an experimental adventure, a profound form of play.
Echo Lew
Dancer
Dancer
Echo Lew Dancer, 2012 Ink & Mixed Media 23”h x 12.5”w
Artist Statement:
I have been drawing for twenty-eight years. In my Zen Buddhist meditation practice, the lines bend like a reed in the breeze, or soar freely as a bird above a cliff, thousands of lines dancing in my mind. The inner world is clean, clear and full of fresh air. Thousands of lines move as a wave. The secrets of the universe are revealed. Music, especially classical symphony, also shapes these visions. I draw the feelings the music brings forth, the expansive sense of flying over mountains, rivers, and oceans. I have been an abstract drawing artist for many years, concerned with line, shape, composition and concept. The meditation allows me to expand creatively while using an ultra-contemporary art forms with limitless potential. Drawing for me is an experimental adventure, a profound form of play.
Annell Livingston
Fragments, Geometry and Change #169
Fragments, Geometry and Change #169
Annell Livingston Fragments, Geometry and Change #169, 2013 Gouache on Watercolor Paper 30”h x 30”w
Artist Statement:
In this series Fragments Geometry & Change, compositions are based on geometry and change, in color, value, temperature, or intensity. These changes can be seen as the eye moves from top to bottom, bottom to top, or from side to side. Through this process I can explore simultaneously the mysterious spaces between inside and outside, color field, and image, figuration and abstraction, two and three dimensional space, and because of its simplicity has immediacy and spontaneity that is distinct.
Annell Livingston
Fragments, Geometry and Change #173
Fragments, Geometry and Change #173
Annell Livingston Fragments, Geometry and Change #173, 2013 Gouache on Watercolor Paper 30”h x 30”w
Artist Statement:
In this series Fragments Geometry & Change, compositions are based on geometry and change, in color, value, temperature, or intensity. These changes can be seen as the eye moves from top to bottom, bottom to top, or from side to side. Through this process I can explore simultaneously the mysterious spaces between inside and outside, color field, and image, figuration and abstraction, two and three dimensional space, and because of its simplicity has immediacy and spontaneity that is distinct.
Annell Livingston
Fragments, Geometry and Change #172 by Annell Livingston
Fragments, Geometry and Change #172
Annell Livingston Fragments, Geometry and Change #172, 2013 Gouache on Watercolor Paper 30”h x 30”w
Artist Statement: In this series Fragments Geometry & Change, compositions are based on geometry and change, in color, value, temperature, or intensity. These changes can be seen as the eye moves from top to bottom, bottom to top, or from side to side. Through this process I can explore simultaneously the mysterious spaces between inside and outside, color field, and image, figuration and abstraction, two and three dimensional space, and because of its simplicity has immediacy and spontaneity that is distinct.
Artwork Listing
Artwork Listing
Tiffany Ma
An Orchestrated Comfort
An Orchestrated Comfort
Tiffany Ma An Orchestrated Comfort, 2014 Mixed Media (Clay, Wire, Ink, etc.) 84"h x 120"w x 108"d
Artist Statement:
An Orchestrated Comfort is an installation of an imaginary environment that has been created through the use of various media. The doll-like house is meticulously constructed by the artist. Filled with memories, dreams and longings, it explores the entanglement of imagination and the subtle need of control within it.
Through this exploration, imagination becomes parallel with reality and the lack of control over the real is amended by the manipulation of the imagined.
CJ Mammarella
Accuse-You Bunny
Accuse-You Bunny
CJ Mammarella Accuse-You Bunny, 2014 Ballpoint Pen on Moleskine Paper 8.25”h x 10.25”w
Artist Statement: All of my work addresses inherent fluctuating power dynamics in various forms of relationship. In many instances I allow animal or inanimate subject matter to possess human traits [physically and/or mentally] to tell my stories. I frequently work in ink liking the permanency of the medium for its ability to document all marks from the beginning to the end of the drawing and therefore capturing elements of time and process in the final image. Technically, the work is obsessive, possibly compulsive and in so, reflects a process of endurance to complete. These three particular pieces are part of a larger series that chronicles the lives of two objects that live with me in my studio, Accuse-You Bunny and Finger-Puppet Rat. Both players are psychological doppelgangers for various aspects of myself yet they are two separate beings that are free to switch, mix and/or match influences at will and with impunity to thwart the other. They live and spar in mutual jealousy and judgment of one another in the pages of a moleskin sketchbook
CJ Mammarella
Choking
Choking
CJ Mammarella Choking, 2014 Ballpoint Pen on Moleskine Paper 8.25”h x 10.25”w
Artist Statement: All of my work addresses inherent fluctuating power dynamics in various forms of relationship. In many instances I allow animal or inanimate subject matter to possess human traits [physically and/or mentally] to tell my stories. I frequently work in ink liking the permanency of the medium for its ability to document all marks from the beginning to the end of the drawing and therefore capturing elements of time and process in the final image. Technically, the work is obsessive, possibly compulsive and in so, reflects a process of endurance to complete. These three particular pieces are part of a larger series that chronicles the lives of two objects that live with me in my studio, Accuse-You Bunny and Finger-Puppet Rat. Both players are psychological doppelgangers for various aspects of myself yet they are two separate beings that are free to switch, mix and/or match influences at will and with impunity to thwart the other. They live and spar in mutual jealousy and judgment of one another in the pages of a moleskin sketchbook
CJ Mammarella
Stalking
Stalking
CJ Mammarella Stalking, 2014 Ballpoint Pen on Moleskine Paper 8.25”h x 10.25”w
Artist Statement: All of my work addresses inherent fluctuating power dynamics in various forms of relationship. In many instances I allow animal or inanimate subject matter to possess human traits [physically and/or mentally] to tell my stories. I frequently work in ink liking the permanency of the medium for its ability to document all marks from the beginning to the end of the drawing and therefore capturing elements of time and process in the final image. Technically, the work is obsessive, possibly compulsive and in so, reflects a process of endurance to complete. These three particular pieces are part of a larger series that chronicles the lives of two objects that live with me in my studio, Accuse-You Bunny and Finger-Puppet Rat. Both players are psychological doppelgangers for various aspects of myself yet they are two separate beings that are free to switch, mix and/or match influences at will and with impunity to thwart the other. They live and spar in mutual jealousy and judgment of one another in the pages of a moleskin sketchbook
Artist Statement: Louise Bourgeois wrote in her book Drawings & Observations: “I am interested in cars because they selfpropel themselves for reasons that are reasonable and mechanical. So this is it: How am I going to be selfoperating all by myself.? Well,I can do that if I can invent something that keeps me going.” These are what I have invented to keep me going. I have always tried to express my feelings of being part of the current time, particularly technology and science as it relates to art. I have become totally engrossed with symmetries as a way of expressing myself in many different mediums. What I like is that they are abstractions that mimic life. It is one image that replicates itself and becomes a more complete image. As soon as there are two sides of an image it becomes organic and recognizable. While I enjoy doing the work I also think the viewer becomes engaged with seeing the work and puzzling out recognizable forms as in Rorschach’s. This drawing is done in acrylic and then I use ink washes to get the effect that I want. The hands on approach is my response to the digital work that I do.
Artist Statement: Louise Bourgeois wrote in her book Drawings & Observations: “I am interested in cars because they selfpropel themselves for reasons that are reasonable and mechanical. So this is it: How am I going to be selfoperating all by myself.? Well,I can do that if I can invent something that keeps me going.” These are what I have invented to keep me going. I have always tried to express my feelings of being part of the current time, particularly technology and science as it relates to art. I have become totally engrossed with symmetries as a way of expressing myself in many different mediums. What I like is that they are abstractions that mimic life. It is one image that replicates itself and becomes a more complete image. As soon as there are two sides of an image it becomes organic and recognizable. While I enjoy doing the work I also think the viewer becomes engaged with seeing the work and puzzling out recognizable forms as in Rorschach’s. This drawing is done in acrylic and then I use ink washes to get the effect that I want. The hands on approach is my response to the digital work that I do.
Amiko Matsuo & Brad Monsma
Pyrometrics
Pyrometrics
Amiko Matsuo & Brad Monsma Pyrometrics, 2014 Clay, Signs 27"h x 13"w x 13"d
Artist Statement:
Pyrometric is an inter-disciplinary collaborative project that represents the intersection of artistic and ecological processes. The installation is comprised of ceramic traffic cones and integrated graphic and textual representations of scientific and pseudoscientific approaches to chaparral fire ecology. Some of these cones are intended to be “chaparral fired” in the Southern California landscape thereby alluding to Orton pyrometric cones. Others are fired with a dusting of ash gathered from previous fires not only to emphasize the cyclical nature of fire in Southern California, but also reference the importance of ash glazes in the history of ceramic arts.
We learn from the example of the “tsunami stones” of Japan—inscribed slabs erected beyond the reach of previous catastrophic tides with warnings to the future: “Remember what happened here and do not make your homes below this point.” Art can mediate between people and nature. Our chaparral-fired ceramics can help calibrate human memory to natural processes.
Diane McLeod
Frogman Time
Frogman Time
Diane McLeod Frogman Time, 2013 Digital/Woodcut 10”h x 8”w
Artist Statement: I have an endless fascination with the human figure, particularly the female form. She is an expressive metaphor for my own thoughts, feelings and consciousness. I am primarily interested in the emotional and narrative content of the figure, using gesture and intensity as driving visual forces and observing the emotional and spiritual world and its relationship to the human psyche. I am curious about the distinguishing qualities of human nature; our relationships, our passions, how we choose to exist, interact and deal with our existential issues, “angels and demons, demons and angels, both are one.”
Diane McLeod
Diane McLeod
Diane McLeod
Diane McLeod Angels and Demons, Demons and Angels, 2014 Intaglio, Mixed Media Sculpture 9”h x 40”w x 32”d
Artist Statement: I have an endless fascination with the human figure, particularly the female form. She is an expressive metaphor for my own thoughts, feelings and consciousness. I am primarily interested in the emotional and narrative content of the figure, using gesture and intensity as driving visual forces and observing the emotional and spiritual world and its relationship to the human psyche. I am curious about the distinguishing qualities of human nature; our relationships, our passions, how we choose to exist, interact and deal with our existential issues, “angels and demons, demons and angels, both are one.”
Lee Middleman
Strata Covered Jar-Desert
Strata Covered Jar-Desert
Lee Middleman Strata Covered Jar-Desert Series, 2014 Stoneware 11"h x 8"w x 8"d
Artist Statement:
I throw classic forms and use surface textures to give them energy and vitality, resulting in art that is both pleasing and alive. I seek to create patterns and textures that emphasize the organic interplay between order and randomness as found in Nature.
The tactile feel and visual look of surface textures are essential to my pieces. I create textures by deeply impressing patterns into thrown cylinders. Then, working from the inside only, I expand the cylinder to create the final form. This technique allows the pattern to evolve as the clay twists and expands. As the pattern adjusts to the shape and function of the vessel, it becomes reflective of Nature’s adaptation to form.
My glazing process enhances the natural aesthetic of the order and randomness. Thinly glazed surfaceshighlight the macropatterns and reveal the stoneware clay’s micro-texture created during the expansion process. I often use multiple glazes to intensify the dynamic tension of the surface.
My goal is to pursue the interplay of shape, surface texture, ordered patterns, and random effects so that work is created that intrigues the eye and demands to be touched. Although my work is functional, it is often prized as decorative.
Lee Middleman
Abora Vase-Jade
Abora Vase-Jade
Lee Middleman Abora Vase-Jade, 2014 Stoneware 8”h x 13”w x 3.5”d
Artist Statement:
I throw classic forms and use surface textures to give them energy and vitality, resulting in art that is both pleasing and alive. I seek to create patterns and textures that emphasize the organic interplay between order and randomness as found in Nature.
The tactile feel and visual look of surface textures are essential to my pieces. I create textures by deeply impressing patterns into thrown cylinders. Then, working from the inside only, I expand the cylinder to create the final form. This technique allows the pattern to evolve as the clay twists and expands. As the pattern adjusts to the shape and function of the vessel, it becomes reflective of Nature’s adaptation to form.
My glazing process enhances the natural aesthetic of the order and randomness. Thinly glazed surfaceshighlight the macropatterns and reveal the stoneware clay’s micro-texture created during the expansion process. I often use multiple glazes to intensify the dynamic tension of the surface.
My goal is to pursue the interplay of shape, surface texture, ordered patterns, and random effects so that work is created that intrigues the eye and demands to be touched. Although my work is functional, it is often prized as decorative.
Lee Middleman
Sunflower-Desert
Sunflower-Desert
Lee Middleman Sunflower-Desert Series, 2013 Stoneware 6"h x 10"w x 10"d
Artist Statement:
I throw classic forms and use surface textures to give them energy and vitality, resulting in art that is both pleasing and alive. I seek to create patterns and textures that emphasize the organic interplay between order and randomness as found in Nature.
The tactile feel and visual look of surface textures are essential to my pieces. I create textures by deeply impressing patterns into thrown cylinders. Then, working from the inside only, I expand the cylinder to create the final form. This technique allows the pattern to evolve as the clay twists and expands. As the pattern adjusts to the shape and function of the vessel, it becomes reflective of Nature’s adaptation to form.
My glazing process enhances the natural aesthetic of the order and randomness. Thinly glazed surfaceshighlight the macropatterns and reveal the stoneware clay’s micro-texture created during the expansion process. I often use multiple glazes to intensify the dynamic tension of the surface.
My goal is to pursue the interplay of shape, surface texture, ordered patterns, and random effects so that work is created that intrigues the eye and demands to be touched. Although my work is functional, it is often prized as decorative.
Artwork Listing
Artwork Listing
Robert A Miller
Untitled
Untitled
Robert A Miller Untitled, 2014 Ceramic Stoneware 11"h x 20"w x 4"d
Artist Statement: I’m a sculptor, potter who likes to mess with traditional ceramic forms and blended them with non- traditional elements and ideas. This body of work incorporates a combination of traditional thrown forms and abstracting them. I then use both traditional nod non-traditional techniques of overlapping glazes. The techniques range from high temperature to complex low fire luster glazes. I have recently been experimenting new technology such as blending ceramics with computer 3D design, and the use of 3D printing techniques.
I received my B.F.A from Otis Parsons Art Institute and a M.F.A from the University of California, Los Angeles. After I graduated I went to Japan as an Artist-in-Residence in Shigraki, Japan. Upon return from the orient I opened an art studio in Los Angeles. My work has been exhibited internationally and can be found in collections throughout the United States, Canada and Asia. I’m currently working on a commission that will be going to Istanbul Turkey. I have taught ceramics at the college and university level for over 15 years throughout Southern California. I have owned two galleries; Miller Fine art, and Miller Durazo Contemporary Artists Projects, which was designed to showcase young emerging talent. Currently, I hold the position of Associate Professor at Rio Hondo College and runs the art gallery and ceramic department.
Artist Statement: My work is primarily autobiographical. It comes from deep within my heart and my own life experiences. I deeply relate to other artists like Jane Austin, or Mary Cassatt who use their personal story to express their hopes, joys, and disappointments. Whether my work is representational or not depends upon my mood and how open I want to be about myself. I actually hope the viewer will be touched at some visceral level that will bring up emotions and memories. My non-representational pieces sometimes have to do with particular crossroads in my life that I best explore visually. Visual expression is my main language. As an artist, I am deeply influenced by a west coast lineage. Having revered Peter Alexander, Ed Moses and Richard Diebenkorn, I believe I work in that context. Today my paintings are a deep reflection of my west coast experience. Having been born here and lived here nearly all my life my work reflects the wide vistas, horizons, and expanses of California. The paintings are also my emotional response to the landscapes and my personal experiences in these landscapes. They are a visual synthesis of experience, emotion, and place
Heather Rosenman
Wonder Portal Vertex
Wonder Portal Vertex
Heather Rosenman Wonder Portal Vertex, 2014 Ceramic 6.5"h x 5.5"w x 2.5"d
Artist Statement: The Mid Century movement emphasized minimalism by simplifying forms to their organic essence. Microscopic expressionism reveals shapes and patterns, such as the structure of diatoms, which complements this idea to me and looks otherworldly. My goal is to create artifacts that bridge the organic and man-made /the natural world and a speculative futuristic world.
Heather Rosenman
Magma, Wonder Portal
Magma, Wonder Portal
Heather Rosenman Magma, Wonder Portal, 2013 Ceramic 13"h x 10.5"w x 5"d
Artist Statement: The Mid Century movement emphasized minimalism by simplifying forms to their organic essence. Microscopic expressionism reveals shapes and patterns, such as the structure of diatoms, which complements this idea to me and looks otherworldly. My goal is to create artifacts that bridge the organic and man-made /the natural world and a speculative futuristic world.
Heather Rosenman
Monad Viewer, Contraptionology,
Monad Viewer, Contraptionology,
Heather Rosenman Monad Viewer, Contraptionology, 2013 Ceramic 16"h x 19"w x 5"d
Artist Statement: The Mid Century movement emphasized minimalism by simplifying forms to their organic essence. Microscopic expressionism reveals shapes and patterns, such as the structure of diatoms, which complements this idea to me and looks otherworldly. My goal is to create artifacts that bridge the organic and man-made /the natural world and a speculative futuristic world.
Karry Ross
I Am the Egg! Lady #1
I Am the Egg! Lady #1
Karry Ross I Am the Egg! Lady #1, 2014 Ink, Acrylic, Collage, Oil| 30”h x 22”w
Artist Statement: Karrie Ross, native to Los Angeles, visual artist, shares her explorations into concepts of energy, science, participation, making an impact, conversations and being seen, as the underlying influences of her art. Metaphorical representations that create a ‘safe’ place for the viewer to experience a flow and connection from their interaction with the art… discovering that they are part of a bigger whole. She poses to you a question … “What is YOUR energy telling the world?” and invites you to join with, and experience hers in the art she creates. Her play! She says, “There is FUN to be found in everything we do. So be sure to develop a pattern of creating conscious play that will stay with you always.”
Karry Ross
Energy Impact Crater #3
Energy Impact Crater #3
Karry Ross Energy Impact Crater #3, 2014 Ink, Oil 30”h x 22”w
Artist Statement: Karrie Ross, native to Los Angeles, visual artist, shares her explorations into concepts of energy, science, participation, making an impact, conversations and being seen, as the underlying influences of her art. Metaphorical representations that create a ‘safe’ place for the viewer to experience a flow and connection from their interaction with the art… discovering that they are part of a bigger whole. She poses to you a question … “What is YOUR energy telling the world?” and invites you to join with, and experience hers in the art she creates. Her play! She says, “There is FUN to be found in everything we do. So be sure to develop a pattern of creating conscious play that will stay with you always.”
Chris Sanders
Diverse Verdant Community
Diverse Verdant Community
Chris Sanders Diverse Verdant Community, 2014 Ceramic 18"h x 17"w x 15"d
Artist Statement: My sculptures are about relationships: person to person, person to society, person to the earth and its environs. Some of the work represents the feelings churning within us that are seldom shared with others. A new body of work, in development, explores the importance of diversity in a community. In the world, and even in our own country, there is so much anger and strife created by single minded groups endeavoring to impose their beliefs and life styles on those around them. Yet, it seems that our greatest strength comes from the blending of cultures, life styles and genetic codes. These pieces bring together diverse forms, textures and colors to produce a unified sculpture greater than the sum of its parts.
Karin Skiba
Blue Moon Over Marygrove
Blue Moon Over Marygrove
Karin Skiba Blue Moon Over Marygrove, 2014 Mixed Media with Silkscreen, Ink and Paper 31”h x 43”w
Artist Statement:
My mixed media work is narrative, telling a story that you the viewer can personally interpret and create. Many of the images are from my own history and symbology but each completed work becomes a world unto itself, the photos referring back to the original source but now in a different situation making new metaphors with drawing and mark making.
So • ka • ty
Imprint
Imprint
So • ka • ty Imprint Ink
Artist Statement: So • ka • ty is a compilation of 3 young artists based out of Southern California. This is the first time they have joined forces to create collaborative installation work. Their combined backgrounds include studies in graphic design, architecture and apparel. They love creating large-scale works that transform a space into an experience to be had. They have created individual works but found that collaborating for this year’s Ink & Clay was a fun and very creative process. This is the first time So-ka-ty has submitted work to a juried show.
Imprint can only be fully realized with the participation of gallery visitors and staff. An ink pad will be mounted near the wall that the piece inhabits. Gallery visitors will be encouraged to ink their finger and leave their fingerprint on the wall. The staggered prints will create a pattern like wave across the wall. Its form will slowly change as people participate.
It is often the case that identity is developed through interactions with other people and the experiences created with them. This piece exemplifies identity in its consideration of the different elements that create it.
As gallery visitors participate, we hope that they become curious about all the other participants and what their stories are. We hope that through participating in its creation, visitors appreciate their unique contribution to making the piece manifest.
So • ka • ty
It Goes On
It Goes On
So • ka • ty It Goes On Permanent Ink
Artist Statement: So • ka • ty is a compilation of 3 young artists based out of Southern California. This is the first time they have joined forces to create collaborative installation work. Their combined backgrounds include studies in graphic design, architecture and apparel. They love creating large-scale works that transform a space into an experience to be had. They have created individual works but found that collaborating for this year’s Ink & Clay was a fun and very creative process. This is the first time So-ka-ty has submitted work to a juried show.
This piece started with us exploring the transition from straight to organic forms. As the concept progressed, the piece came to represent the human life. We all essentially start life the same way, launched onto straight paths set for us. As we grow older and turn corners, however, our circumstances and actions change, as do we. Our lives are full of twists and turns, our stories become more complicated, and we affect the lives of those around us. But just as we entered this world the same way, our lives all eventually come to a close, our legacies lingering on for a short while.
So • ka • ty
Up To Know Good
Up To Know Good
So • ka • ty Up To Know Good Ink
Artist Statement: So • ka • ty is a compilation of 3 young artists based out of Southern California. This is the first time they have joined forces to create collaborative installation work. Their combined backgrounds include studies in graphic design, architecture and apparel. They love creating large-scale works that transform a space into an experience to be had. They have created individual works but found that collaborating for this year’s Ink & Clay was a fun and very creative process. This is the first time So-ka-ty has submitted work to a juried show.
This piece is playful and is meant to encourage viewers to recall their mischievous nature. As children we are encouraged to be playful, messy and creative. As we become adults, this manner of living can be discouraged with us being forced to accommodate society’s conventions. “I Swear It Wasn’t Me,” is meant to amuse viewers and remind them of their childhoods. We hope the large-scale nature of this piece and the message it contains encourages gallery visitors to feel physically small, while joyfully recalling their playful youth.
Artwork Listing
Artwork Listing
Dina Sonabend Finzi
Dina Sonabend Finzi
Dina Sonabend Finzi
Dina Sonabend Finzi Crocus I, 2014 Hand Carved, High Fired Porcelain 4.5"h x 6.5"w x 6.5"d
Artist Statement: I have been inspired by organic forms and contour lines throughout my artistic life. I love their sensuality and femininity. I always return to these elements whenever I go off in other directions with my clay work. They are my roots in both two dimensional and three dimensional forms. My pots are three dimensional drawings whose subjects are usually plants in my garden. I have a strong connection to my garden as I raise the plants, often from seeds, and care for them through the seasons of their lives. I draw and photograph them at all stages.I work in porcelain on the potters wheel. Its smooth surface compliments the organic forms I favor. I derive great satisfaction from drawing onto and carving into a porcelain surface. I can anticipate how the glazes will help to enhance the piece by pooling and flowing over the pot. This anticipation is like a fluid dance in my mind. I always look forward to working on my next piece and incorporating new ideas.
Dina Sonabend Finzi
Dina Sonabend Finzi
Dina Sonabend Finzi
Dina Sonabend Finzi Crocus II, 2014 Hand Carved, High Fired Porcelain 4.5"h x 6.5"w x 6.5"d
Artist Statement: I have been inspired by organic forms and contour lines throughout my artistic life. I love their sensuality and femininity. I always return to these elements whenever I go off in other directions with my clay work. They are my roots in both two dimensional and three dimensional forms. My pots are three dimensional drawings whose subjects are usually plants in my garden. I have a strong connection to my garden as I raise the plants, often from seeds, and care for them through the seasons of their lives. I draw and photograph them at all stages.I work in porcelain on the potters wheel. Its smooth surface compliments the organic forms I favor. I derive great satisfaction from drawing onto and carving into a porcelain surface. I can anticipate how the glazes will help to enhance the piece by pooling and flowing over the pot. This anticipation is like a fluid dance in my mind. I always look forward to working on my next piece and incorporating new ideas.
Dino Sophia
Untitled
Untitled
Dino Sophia Untitled, 2013 Earthenware, Undeglaze, Ceramic Decal 8.5"h x 10.25"w x 4.5"d
Artist Statement: I am obsessed with letters and numbers for their abstract qualities -- not necessarily spelling out anything. They are timeless suggesting a palimpsest, a prayer, a whisper, a mantra. My forms are simple and sculptural giving a nod to their utilitarian ancestors.
Howard Steenwyk
Cynthia
Cynthia
Howard Steenwyk Cynthia, 2014 Felt Marker on Xerox Paper Output 30”h x 22”w x 1”d
Artist Statement: The contemporary American Experience is a consumer driven environment in which our values are deceptively advertised as wholesome qualities of The American Dream. Concepts of packaging, branding and marketing have permeated our culture and language where interpersonal relationships have become commodities within social media to define status. My current work involves colliding images and techniques producing a new piece with content each individual component does not possess on its own. The conceptual and visual contrast expresses the divergent forces that shape the American Experience.
Ming-Hwei Carol Sun
Too Small!
Too Small!
Ming-Hwei Carol Sun Small!, 2013 Thrown & Hand Built Porcelain Acrylic on Canvas 48"h x 144"w x 3"d
Artist Statement: With my experience as a programmer and an artist, my art work focused toward software technology and technology vs. nature as the topics I would like to explore. Emotionally, I want to break away from technology or software related objects, but use languages and culture to express nature and humanity. Therefore I use ceramic as the material in my art work. I found the style I most related with is installations with simple form and color, but roughly repetitive with decorations and geometric patterns, which falls into post-minimalism style. To bring the sense of technology and not forgetting about the nature and the environment, most of my works are in earth tones or with the colors and shapes that reference historical objects. Since not until the modern era had ceramics began to be considered art or materials for installation, it is one of the benefits of using ceramics to create unique modern art. The style and the aesthetic of ceramic can be combined with traditional and modern elements in a dramatic and settled in a way taking the advantage of the gap between modern art making and the traditions.
Chad Tolley
Hard Rock Candy Mountain
Hard Rock Candy Mountain
Chad Tolley Hard Rock Candy Mountain, 2014 Screen Print
Artist Statement:
My work begins as a process of collecting. I collect photos, textures, magazine clippings and notes from personal observation. Most of these materials are assembled together in my sketchbook to create a sort of log book. It is in my sketchbook that I process ideas and create drawing assemblages from which I develop prints.
My drawings and prints are filled with visual metaphors that suggest a narrative. Each narrative is an intuitive response to material accumulated through observation, introspection and visual mapping. Though I do not intend to create autobiographical work, I often use my personal experience as point of reference. My hope is that the final image will have enough information to suggest meaning but ambiguous enough to allow for personal interpretation.
Cecilia Torres
Ampersand Three
Ampersand Three
Cecilia Torres Ampersand Three, 2013 Steve's White Low-fire Clay, Metal Coating and Patina 9.5"h x 14"w x 4"d
Artist Statement: "There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun."
- Picasso
This is a favorite quote of mine, which also defines my journey as a ceramicist: the yearning for that sun: the visual solution in clay. I am deeply aware of my Pacific Islander background from the island of Guahan (Guam), and explore the history, myths, legends, and traditions of the island. I remember watching an Oceania segment on TV where it was mentioned that there is no word for art. I realize that my particular island is hit by typhoons and much can be destroyed. Guam is known for its weaving and carving, is there not art in these pursuits? Then I read recently that there is no word in Oceania (Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia) because an “artifact” is a Western concept. Painting, sculpture, carving, weaving and maybe even tattoos are actually an integral part of social and and religious aspects of daily island life.
That’s how I would like to create in clay. Not working in a medium as special projects, but because the imagery is part of my personal story, something I see every day. Maybe the clay journey incorporates function and form and selects from my past and present. I make what’s in my head because I don’t see the same experience elsewhere. The great designer Massimo Vignelli was quoted as saying, “lf you do it right it will last forever.” Maybe the clay piece I make may not last, but the thought that once it existed will last forever.
Cecilia Torres
Ampersand Two
Ampersand Two
Cecilia Torres Ampersand Two, 2013 Steve's White Low-fire Clay, Metal Coating and Pating 9.5"h x 14"w x 4"d
Artist Statement:
"There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun."
- Picasso
This is a favorite quote of mine, which also defines my journey as a ceramicist: the yearning for that sun: the visual solution in clay. I am deeply aware of my Pacific Islander background from the island of Guahan (Guam), and explore the history, myths, legends, and traditions of the island. I remember watching an Oceania segment on TV where it was mentioned that there is no word for art. I realize that my particular island is hit by typhoons and much can be destroyed. Guam is known for its weaving and carving, is there not art in these pursuits? Then I read recently that there is no word in Oceania (Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia) because an “artifact” is a Western concept. Painting, sculpture, carving, weaving and maybe even tattoos are actually an integral part of social and and religious aspects of daily island life.
That’s how I would like to create in clay. Not working in a medium as special projects, but because the imagery is part of my personal story, something I see every day. Maybe the clay journey incorporates function and form and selects from my past and present. I make what’s in my head because I don’t see the same experience elsewhere. The great designer Massimo Vignelli was quoted as saying, “lf you do it right it will last forever.” Maybe the clay piece I make may not last, but the thought that once it existed will last forever.
Noriho Uriu
Signal & Noise_Taiko
Signal & Noise_Taiko
Noriho Uriu Signal & Noise_Taiko, 2012 Relief-Lino Cut
Artist Statement: The.works.I.submitted.for.Ink.and.Clay.are.abstractions.of...“Signal.&.Noise”..using.the.motifs.of.sound,.musical.notes,.and.natural.images...People.today.are.wrapped.up.in.a.digital.world.characterized.by.information.and.sensory.overload...We.all.need.to.search.for.what.is.meaningful.to.each.of.us.out.of.the.overwhelming.swirl.of.information.and.data.
Marinna Wagner
Horizontal Fold
Horizontal Fold
Marinna Wagner Horizontal Fold, 2014 Porcelain and Rio Red Ceramic 5"h x 15"w x 11"d
Artist Statement:
The ceramic pieces are made using an old Japanese technique called neriage or nerikomi, in which different colored clay bodies are layered to build a grid pattern. The grid is distorted as the clay slab is laid over an armature that holds its drapery-like form. The two natural colored clay bodies are unglazed and un-pigmented. Consequently, the pushing and pulling of the grid is not a skin on the exterior, but rather visual evidence of the physical distortions of the clay itself. The marbled folds are reminiscent of Devonian colored sandstone and Hungarian red nodular limestone statues from the Romanesque period. The folds recall cloth adorning an absent body, or the topology of an undulating landscape.
The ceramic bowl is made through the same process of nerikomi, yet because it is a pinch pot it links back to the most ancient methods of creating a vessel. The exterior unglazed black and white clay bodies are combined with a deep blue glazed interior to reference the detail and color scheme of Oriental pottery.
Margi Weir
Codex II
Codex II
Margi Weir Codex II, 2014 Digital Print on Rag Paper 24”h x 20”w
Artist Statement:
In my studio practice, I use a computer to repeat images that I stitch together visually in order to make an appealing pattern, often resulting in tapestry-like, spatially flattened compositions. Through decorative patterning, the work of art draws the viewer into a slowly unfurling narrative that invites a discussion about ecology and/or sociopolitical realities of the contemporary world around us. Meaning is implied by the juxtaposition of images. Conclusions are left to the viewer in the hope that a continued questioning will be inspired by the work of art.
Margi Weir
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Margi Weir Bang! Bang!, 2014 Digital Print on Rag Paper 20”h x 20”w
Artist Statement: In my studio practice, I use a computer to repeat images that I stitch together visually in order to make an appealing pattern, often resulting in tapestry-like, spatially flattened compositions. Through decorative patterning, the work of art draws the viewer into a slowly unfurling narrative that invites a discussion about ecology and/or sociopolitical realities of the contemporary world around us. Meaning is implied by the juxtaposition of images. Conclusions are left to the viewer in the hope that a continued questioning will be inspired by the work of art.
Margi Weir
Family Farm
Margi Weir
Margi Weir Family Farm, 2014 Digital Print on Rag Paper 24”h x 20”w
Artist Statement:
In my studio practice, I use a computer to repeat images that I stitch together visually in order to make an appealing pattern, often resulting in tapestry-like, spatially flattened compositions. Through decorative patterning, the work of art draws the viewer into a slowly unfurling narrative that invites a discussion about ecology and/or sociopolitical realities of the contemporary world around us. Meaning is implied by the juxtaposition of images. Conclusions are left to the viewer in the hope that a continued questioning will be inspired by the work of art.
Peter Wolf
Post-Post Modern
Post-Post Modern
Peter Wolf Post-Post Modern, 2014 Ceramic & Paper 5.5"h x 9.5"w x 9.5"d
Artist Statement:
My current series explores our culture from the viewpoint of an archeologist examining the remains of a civilization long since gone. What story does it tell? It’s a question I often ask myself when I view the ruins of previous cultures, or even each time I empty the trash. I often wonder, “What would they find, and how would these artifacts be interpreted?”
I hope in these pieces to start a conversation about who were are, what we value, and what we leave behind.
As a ceramic artist, I strive to push the edge of clays possibilities as a medium. Much of my inspiration comes from nature, and this series was the result of exploring Hawaii’s lava fields. I experimented with a variety of clays and texturing techniques, as well as unusual glaze materials, to achieve the effects you see here. Hopefully, viewing these pieces will allow you to reflect on your own lives and how our present culture will be perceived by future generations.
Established in 1971, Ink & Clay 
Installation View, Front East Gallery, Ink & Clay 40 Exhibition, Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014.
Installation View, Front East Gallery, Ink & Clay 40 Exhibition, Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014.
Installation View, Front West Gallery, Ink & Clay 40 Exhibition, Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014.
Installation View, Front West Gallery, Ink & Clay 40 Exhibition, Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014.
Installation View, Corridor of Gallery, Ink & Clay 40 Exhibition, Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014.
Installation View, Corridor of Gallery, Ink & Clay 40 Exhibition, Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014.
Installation View, Corridor of Gallery, Ink & Clay 40 Exhibition, Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014.
Installation View, Corridor of Gallery, Ink & Clay 40 Exhibition, Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014.
Installation View, Corridor of Gallery, Ink & Clay 40 Exhibition, Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014.
Installation View, Corridor of Gallery, Ink & Clay 40 Exhibition, Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014.
Installation View, Corridor of Gallery, Ink & Clay 40 Exhibition, Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 23, 2014.