15 January 2020

Not Every Day is Carnival Hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture, stained and fired; cold finishes and varnishes; on turned wooden base.

590mm high x 270mm diameter

The irony in this piece is intentional. Masks used in Venetian carnival (which ends with the celebration of Lent each year) often made reference to the “Plague doctor” masks worn as part of a protective suit beginning in the 17th Century. The original masks featured a hollow, beak-shaped nose, typically stuffed with herbs, straw, and spices designed to keep out the foul odours that were thought to spread infection. 

10 December 2019

Seeing is believing. Wall-hung, hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture, fired with cold finishes and varnishes; with assemblage (antique silver-plated platter, up-cycled steel shoe-stretcher springs with wooden knobs).

350mm high x 220mm wide x 90mm deep

In an age of fake news, with cults around every corner (along with rampant rumours re: extraterrestrial travel)… seeing is still believing.

29 November 2019

Knock, knock. Wall-hung, hand-built figurative ceramic sculpture, fired with cold finishes and varnishes; with assemblage (wooden drawer with knob and brass door knocker).

235mm high x 175mm wide x 145mm deep

Being woke is no joke… be prepared when life comes a-knocking!

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…