Catherine Craig's Art

Upcoming Classes

2011-03-10T08:28:00.002-06:00

CLAYWORKS!

Catherine Craig teaches pottery and sculpture.
Classes are set to your time requirements.

Please email catherineacraig@hotmail.com for an appointment.

All age groups welcome!

One-on-one instruction
Mother and child groups
Workshops with friends
Couples working in clay

I’m Back, and We’re Open !

2010-12-11T20:48:00.001-06:00

Well, it HAS been a while, hasn’t it? More than a year in fact. But I’m back, and I hope you’ll pop by for a visit now and again.

The most exciting news is that several of my artist friends and I have opened a Gallery ! The Art Gallery of Lambeth opened on the evening of December 4th. Many of my family and friends turned out to help us launch the new endeavour.

My pieces looked right at home in their new surroundings:

And when the doors opened, we were delighted to welcome many new friends.

We hope you’ll visit. The gift shop is full of wonderful things.

The next day, London and area got the craziest start to winter: nearly a meter of snow in 72 hours. (That’s my car below)

But I didn’t mind too much. The snow made the path to my studio look like an Emily Carr painting !

That’s all for now. More soon. I promise!

You’re Invited !

2009-10-01T19:11:00.000-05:00

On October 17th and 18th (that’s the weekend after Thanksgiving) a dozen-and-a-half artists, crafters, and gallery-owners invite you to visit them in their studios, shops, and homes, all over Elgin & Middlesex Counties.

The trees are just beginning to change colours, so it will be a fine time to visit the counties, and make some new friends while you’re at it.

We’ll be open to welcome you between ten in the morning, and three in the afternoon.

We hope you’ll come

Where Have YOU Been ?

2009-09-05T14:12:00.000-05:00

Well, it may seem as if this blog has been abandoned, forgotten, ignored.

Not so.

This has been an exciting and busy summer.

Trips to Toronto and Ottawa:

A week studying spinning at the Haliburton School of the Arts:

My nieces were here learning to do clay:

There were also trips to Windsor and Guelph, as well as all those things that being part of a large and busy extended family entails.

But here’s the thing. The Fall and Winter sales are approaching, I’m (supposed to be) in a few of them, and I need to get busy in the studio again.

Which I will ! I’ve got some sketches together for new work, and I’ll be sharing those with you soon.

Promise!

Where Theory Ends

2009-05-31T13:13:00.001-05:00

A few days ago, I posted about the difference between the sketch, as theory, and the piece as practice.

Of course theory only takes us so far:

The wreckage you see as the kiln opens is what is left of this.

The clay had been thoroughly wedged, so it was not an air pocket that exploded. More likely it was residual humidity which had nowhere to go… until the piece blew up.

I still have the sketches (remember that theory stuff?) So I’ll remake the piece, and fire it when the air is dryer.

One More Week !

2009-05-23T15:02:00.001-05:00

These two pieces are at the St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre:

Cloud Walker Broken Blind

Drop by and see them before the end of the month.

There are always good things to see at this community gallery, so plan to spend some time … and sign the Guest Book !

The Dorchester Artist Network …

2009-05-23T14:30:00.001-05:00

… is having their annual Art Show & Sale next weekend.

I look forward to participating in this show every year, and I hope to meet some of you there. My friend Robin Baratta and I are both members of this group, and you’ll have a chance to say hello to Robin, too.

The show takes place May 29 & 30 at the Dorchester on the Thames Golf Club. Friday’s Gala Opening runs from 6pm to 9pm. Saturday we’ll be there from 10am until 6pm.

Don’t miss it!

Theoretical Drapery

2009-05-23T14:10:00.001-05:00

I’ve been working on a number of pieces lately that involve drapery as an element. In the sketch phase, when the design is two-dimensional (with or without colour), the drapery is a kind of theory, a hypothesis about what drapery can do.

Once the piece becomes fully three dimensional, the drapery is no longer theoretical. It is an illustration of what practise tells me drapery can do.

As I move from two to three dimensions, there is a kind of discussion or negotiation that goes on between (or among) the image in my head, the sketch on the paper and the piece as finally realized.

By the way, the piece above has just come out of the kiln. I’ll show you what it looks like when it’s finished.

Appreciate the Arts

2009-05-09T10:07:00.005-05:00

Above are a couple of my pieces - "Cloud Walker" and "Hecate" on exhibit at a wonderful event in St. Thomas.

"Appreciation for the Arts" has been presented by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for the last twenty-three years. It included an opening night gala with vocal and musical performances, as well as work by dozens of local artists.

The works and performances were of very high quality, and as you can see by the bottom pic, the show was VERY well attended!

This is the sort of community-based art event that I love, and I make an effort to see as many of them as I can.

You should too!

When Surface Fights with Form

2009-05-09T09:46:00.005-05:00

Take a look.

The top picture is of a recent piece. I thought it was finished, but there was something that bothered me about it. I even exhibited it with the blue surface treatment.

Then I re-did the surface, and the bottom picture shows how it looks now.

I'm happier with the piece now. The old surface was in conflict with the form, while the new colours - more subtle, more variegated - pull the eye in to the form of the piece rather than pushing it away.

It's a huge difference for such a small change.

In the Studio

2009-05-09T09:36:00.007-05:00

Here are two pieces I've been working on.

At the top is a study for a sculpture I'll be starting soon.

Below that is a piece that is nearly ready for firing.

I've been crazy busy lately, but it is the time in the studio that makes the busy-ness worthwhile.

Working

2009-05-09T09:27:00.003-05:00

Recently, I ran across this quote from Sir James Dyson. He's the guy who invented the hugely successful Dyson vacuum cleaner. Here's what he says:

"... if you want to discover something that other people haven't, you need to do things the wrong way. Initiate a failure by doing something very silly, unthinkable, naughty, dangerous. Watching why that fails can take you on a completely different path.

"[Society] admires instant brilliance, effortless brilliance. I think quite the reverse. You should admire the person who perseveres and slogs through and gets there in the end."

Right on! Apparently, it took Sir James more than five thousand prototypes to get his vacuum cleaner right (!), but each "mistake" ("experiment" is a better word) took him closer to his goal.

That's the way I feel about my work. The important thing is to do it every single day, and to keep on doing it, knowing that the day's work is moving you (me) forward.

We talk about "art works", but forget sometimes that the works come from The Work.

The Works

2009-04-13T17:43:00.006-05:00

These are some of the pieces I am showing at the Cherryhill Library.

The show will be there until the end of April.

Our Opening

2009-04-13T17:23:00.006-05:00

Well, the evening of Tuesday, April 7 was an exciting one. Thanks to everyone who came to the opening at the Cherryhill Library. The attendees were enthusiastic about my work and Robin's.

The show is at the Cherryhill until the end of the month, so take some time to drop by.