Stephani Stephenson on mon 3 jun 02
I have been bounding about the countryside on a few of these weekends
past.
A couple of weeks ago, I grabbed mom in Green Valley AZ and headed over
the hills to Bisbee.
What a quaint mining town! Pleased to see pottery galleries and shops
downtown, mugs to sculpture. Also, while lost in the tiny winding
hillside streets above the downtown, came across the Cochise County
courthouse, up on 'quality hill' in Bisbee. The 1931 courthouse ,
designed by architect Roy Place and with architectural relief
sculpture of stylized cacti forms ( done by place's son Lew when he was
17 years old) is a masterpiece of the Pueblo Deco style. I have since
found out the relief work is in fact concrete, not terra cotta , as I
thought when I stood there gazing at it in awe...... but it is still
quite inspiring, especially considering the youth of the sculptor, as
the design is tight and forms very well executed, complementing the art
deco lines of building beautifully..
This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting and attending a potluck
and party at Richard Keit and Mary Kennedy's home in Ojai, CA.
O' what a treat...happened to be the Ojai Arts festival...music, drama,
art and clay!. Ventura Potter's Guild had quite a presence at the open
air Art Fair.
A big treat for me , besides the food, the cameraderie and the
wonderful Ojai valley, was to meet Dan and Laura Hennig, down from
Boulder Creek. They had a 2 day show at Massarella's Firehouse
Gallery. WOW! What a wonderful couple, and fabulous work.!
I came home with one of Dan's crows, perched on a beautiful vase. It is
fired to Cone 10 , lovely subtle glaze and that crow so alive I keep
thinking it is going to start cawing at me! Dan and Laura's imaginations
and sculptural/potting abilities are incredible and they really have
developed glaze palettes which work fabulously with their amazing array
of highly animated work! Again this is a case where seeing the work in
person is wonderful , plus getting to swap stories and yes talk shop
too. Frank Massarella is a potter and has a working studio right in the
gallery, so there is always high quality pottery at the gallery. so
check it out.
The other transforming experience is RTK studios, Richard and Mary are
,simply put, tile MASTERS. Their home and their Canada street
showroom/studio showcase their work beautifully. I mean, the place is
ENCHANTING! And they are so generous about supporting the work of many
artists. Richard has put together the most astounding palette of glazes
I have ever seen. My jaw just drops. Mary has the ability to interpret
designs beautifully into the cuerda seca technique. Their murals and
tile work are really at the pinnacle of the technique and the style.
They are so rich and done flawlessly. And can you believe it, the studio
is so well organized, makes you want to weep. this must be how studios
are in heaven.
When I see work of this caliber I am so humbled and yet it isn't the
kind of humility that makes you just want to slink out the back door or
do a Wayne and Garth 'I'M NOT WORTHY bow, (though the thought DOES
flicker through the mind!!!!! )
This challenges you and inspires you to do better! And it is SO
wonderful to see such good, supportive ,hospitable people succeeding
brilliantly at what they do. I guess I can't say enough good things
about them and their work.
I was treated so well by the folks in Ojai and met some other
wonderful artists .I didn't even get to the studio of Otto Heino or
Beatrice Wood's home, but left, energized!
Massarella's Firehouse Pottery
109 S. Montgomery
Ojai 805-646-9453
RTK Studios
www.rtkstudios.com
Ojai CA
Dan and Laura Hennig
http://www.campclimaxpottery.com
Camp Climax Pottery - Dan and Laurie Hennig
Stephani Stephenson
Carlsbad CA
steph@alchemiestudio.com
| |
|
