20 March 2019
Anemone Anne Wall-hung, hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture, fired, with cold finishes and varnishes.
320mm high x 190mm wide x 105mm deep
Mandy Manatee Wall-hung, hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture, fired, with cold finishes and varnishes.
255mm high x 140mm wide x 105mm deep
Sandy Starfish Wall-hung, hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture, fired, with assemblage (a starfish acquired in New Zealand), cold finishes and varnishes.
255mm high x 130mm wide x 97mm deep
Ursula Urchin Wall-hung, hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture, fired, with assemblage (sharpened, up cycled bicycle spokes), cold finishes and varnishes.
300mm high x 160mm wide x 140mm deep
These four pieces are the beginning of an open series titled ‘Seagals.’ The faces are approximately life-sized. Each piece features a different “sea-creature” (sculpted, natural, or assembled from up-cycled materials) — why a sea creature? Because our seas need our attention and protection! Inspiration for the look and feel of these is drawn from the “bathing beauties” of the 1920s, with colouration reflecting the work of portrait illustrators of that time (e.g. Władysław T. Benda).
6 March 2019
Known Unknowns Hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture, fired; with cold finishes and varnishes; assemblage with pieces of carved deer antler (the walrus tusks); on stained wooden base.
480mm high x 290mm diameter
This intentionally ironic piece mixes Neoclassical styling with an environmental message regarding the precariousness of global oceanic warming and “at-risk” species — mermaids and walruses. Conventional cautions apply: “Never look a mermaid in the eyes.”
1 March 2019
Fabrica Hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture, stained and fired; assemblage with antique sewing machine flywheel, industrial wooden spindles, and metal buttons; cold finishes and varnishes. (A selection of miscellaneous buttons is provided for optional display purposes).
820mm high x 560mm wide x 270mm depth/diameter
Fabrica is from the Latin fabricare “to make, construct, fashion, build,” with reference to a feminine noun suggesting “art, craft.” This sculpture is my homage to the many women (and men) I have known who love sewing and who have created fashionable as well as functional clothing for themselves and those they love.
18 February 2019
Five years ago this month, a figurative ceramic sculpture of mine made its debut at an art show at The Cre8ery in Winnipeg. It was titled ‘No Regrets‘ and featured an elderly gentleman with two wise Latin maxims, “tempus fugit” (“time flies”) and “carpe diem” (“seize the day”), spelled out in repurposed Scrabble™ tiles (mounted on up-cycled steel bicycle spokes) rising like carefully composed thoughts above his head.
To be honest, I was never completely happy with the original stain/finish on this piece… it somehow seemed just a bit too dark and somber and morose for the title ‘No Regrets.’ A gal’s allowed to change her mind, eh? After now living with this wise-yet-solemn figure for five years, it was now time for a facelift (along with a suitable re-name) — I’m pleasantly chuffed about both the updated persona and the overall result — “Put on a happy face…“
15 February 2019
Youth & Crawe Hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture with cold finishes, metal findings; on turned and polished wooden base.
535mm high x 240mm diameter
Serendipity, or key moments in life (such as the doorsill to adulthood) may reveal what the future holds in store…
10 February 2019
Fiskimenn (Have you met the locals?) Hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture with cold finishes and findings, on a stained/waxed wooden base (old-growth fir).
434mm high x 290mm x 225mm
Living on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg, we frequently encounter the iconic Bombardier snowcats (first built in the 1940s) used by local, mostly Icelandic, fishermen. This piece is a sort of tribute to the hardy souls who brave the vast Lake — at all times of the year.
19 January 2019
Prince Apparent Hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture with cold finishes; on turned and stained rain tree wooden base.
360mm high x 245mm diameter
I was intrigued by the weathered villages we visited in Portugal last winter… and the images in my head no doubt expressed themselves here in clay. You sometimes wonder about the official history that is told of a place…
5 January 2019
Hope Springs Eternal Hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture with glazes and cold finishes; on turned and stained rain tree wooden base.
455mm high x 285mm diameter
Winters are long and cold,
but I’ve learned to anticipate
the annual explosion of daisies
that spring brings…
5 January 2019
Moving on… Hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture with cold finishes; assemblage with mahogany sewing machine drawer and antique brass Griffen feet (found at the Thieves Market, Lisbon), findings. This piece may be wall-hung (a centered hanger is on the back) or free-standing, as shown here.
435mm high x 145mm x 130mm
26 October 2018
Even though I recently took a year’s sabbatical from making sculpture, it’s gratifying to know that there’s still “an appetite” for my work. Four of my figurative pieces have sold in the past few months — some through the Pulse Gallery (at The Forks, Winnipeg), and some directly to collectors who contacted me here, through my studio. I’m now back in the atelier sculpting away… timely, as the autumn seems to be turning less favourable for “playing outside.”
Sculptures recently sold: ‘Deep Within‘ (which went to Paris); ‘Carrot & Ginger‘; ‘Believe,’ my homage to aviator Amelia Earhart; and ‘Third Time Lucky,’ the metaphoric piece depicting a stressed, myopic lifeguard.
