NCECA in Review (Providence 2015). Friday 26th March.
Hamish Jackson
[This post includes pictures from the NCECA annual cup sale, the Juried Student Show and the Armory Show including the Apprentice Lines Exhibition. I have included links to the featured artists' websites wherever possible].
I whisked myself out of bed bright and early for yoga and joined the long snaking queue for the opening of the annual cup sale after. There was still a decent selection when I got in there and bought myself a beautiful slip cast cup.
NCECA 2015 cup sale frenzy
Next up I attended a meeting of the Green Task Force. There weren't that many of us at the meeting but some positive ideas came up, such as the potential for a collaborative project for next year's NCECA involving bricks made from recycled materials. From here I went to a very entertaining lecture on Grayson Perry and then over to the Apprenticeship Panel Discussion.
Mark Shapiro introduced the speakers; Louise Cort discussed the tradition of apprenticeships in Japan, Lucie Brisson about her time apprenticing with Simon Levin, and Daniel Johnson spoke about his experiences as an apprentice in Thailand, under Mark Hewitt and Clive Bowen, as well as taking on apprentices of his own now. Daniel blew me away with his straightforward attitude and the slides of his outrageously large and fine pots. He discussed the freedom of working for a studio and not "owning" the pots you make. Someone in the audience asked at the end about students not getting the chance to make their own work and he replied simply that every pot you make is your work. It is about building up your skills, not your collection of pots. I firmly believe this too. Daniel's talk gave me the shivers that stayed with me through the whole afternoon. I felt extremely privileged to have been accepted by Mark Hewitt to be his next apprentice (I'm starting in a few days).
I spent a good section of the afternoon exploring the juried student show on display pretty close to the Convention Centre. Here are the pictures -- some incredible work.
Michelle Laxalt, Keeper (Chimera), Paper clay, underglaze, cone 04 electric fired, acrylic paint, oil paint, varnish, gold leaf. Georgia State University.
Rachel Bigley, Calcium, Earthenware, latex paint, and dry pigments. Georgia State University.
Wen-Dan Lin, White Curl / Iron Skin, Arizona State University.
Ivan Camona, Royalty, Earthernware, hand built, engobe, glazes, fired at cone 04, cold-finish. Oregon College of Art and Craft.
Abby Nohal, Topographical Recollections, Stoneware and glaze, fired in a gas kiln to cone 10 reduction. Duchess Community College.
Sarah Heitmeyer, A Slice Of Ups And Downs, Earthenware, underglaze, cone 04, glaze. SUNY.
Scott Steder,In Play, Stoneware, glaze, and copper oxide, wood/salt fired to cone10 reduction. Wichita State University.
Love this piece but not sure who made it.
Stuart Gair, Row of Vases, Carved stoneware, white slip, glazed white, soda fired to cone 11. University of Nebraska.
Angela Biederman,Cow in Tall Grass, Stoneware, glaze, cone 6 oxidation. Kent State University.
Kelly Stevenson, GROUNDLESS DISENGAGEMENT, Lizella stoneware, cone 04, wood, acrylic, encaustic, resin. Georgia State University.
Willian Harning, Mizusashi, Wood fired, Montana stoneware with shino. Montana State University.
Sara Catapano, UNTITLED (EXCAVATION), Black stoneware, soda fired white stoneware, custom pedestal. University of Miami.
Stuart Gair, Liquor Set, Carved stoneware, flashing slip, cone 11 soda fired. University of Nebraska.
I was tired by the evening, but decided I couldn't miss the
Armory Show opening in Pawtucket. I got on the wrong bus but the driver was very friendly and altered the end of his route to drop me right outside. I think this show was my favourite of NCECA 2015. There was a vast array of work, around the central "Apprentice Lines" exhibit.
Organised by Mark Shapiro, Apprentice Lines showcased many of Americas prominent masters and their apprentices. On the walls were cups/mugs from each master and their apprentices. These clusters were connected via black taped lines to pedestals bearing larger pieces of work. Walking around the exhibition was enjoyable because you could clearly see the connections and deviations in style. It was really interactive and I found myself going back round to pieces, circling the exhibit and gleaning more as I did. There was an excited buzz in the air and people clicking away with their cameras and phones everywhere you turned. I ran out of space on my camera's memory card so the latter half of these pics were kindly passed along to me by
Rene Theberge.
There were five other exhibits in the Armory Show with some very interesting work too, but I only have these few pictures below. The little figures tickled me. Unsure of the artist though.
This was in the centre of the plates in the picture above.
