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The Animal Instinct Catalog CD: $15 plus shipping and handling

Purchase the CD rom catalog today for only $15 plus shipping, click here.
To order by phone call 410-578-1919

In The Gallery:
Beth Cavener Stichter: Feral and Fearless

In January and February of 2005, Baltimore Clayworks is proud to be host The Animal Instinct, an exhibition curated by ceramic sculptor Beth Cavener Stichter, an American Craft Council grant recipient (2003) and former resident and instructor at the prestigious Archie Bray Foundation in Montana (2002-2004).

The Animal Instinct, running from January 8 to February 12, is an invitational exhibition that features work from Stichter and 20 exceptional artists who work with animal imagery in both sculpture and pottery. Included in this talented group are: Christina Antemann, Adrian Arleo, Gina Bobrowski, Mary Jo Bole, Joe Bova, John Byrd, Mary Cloonan, Linda Cordell, Bernadette Curran, Ken Ferguson, Rebecca Harvey, Nancy Jacobsohn, Pamela E. Kelly, Adelaide Paul, Liz Quackenbush, David Regan, Michael Simon, Lizbeth Stewart, Jason Walker and Kurt Weiser.

We will also be fortunate to have the artist-turned-curator as an instructor for a two day workshop on January 8 and 9 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The workshop, entitled One Thin Wall: a Workshop with Beth Cavener Stichter, will offer insights into the artist's hand-building techniques for creating large scale sculpture.

Stichter's process is a visceral and physical one. She states that her building techniques actually "…wear [her] out…" as she uses her whole body in an animalistic, ravenous, and intuitive method of carving and amassing her hulking pieces in their first stages of creation. Later, when hollowing the forms out, she forms an intimate connection with her creatures, crawling into their echoing underbellies, "…closing [herself] in, slipping them on like skins." There is a secret interaction between Stichter and these intimate spaces, these interiors never to be seen by the viewer. They are her private hideouts, surrogate wombs.

These works spring from Stichter's learned experience and innate instinct. She creates haunting images of the misguided interaction between nature and human beings, showing us the effects of tampering with nature. One can immediately feel the chilling fear of a scared animal reacting with its primal instincts to flee when confronting these beings. As viewers, we squirm inside with the realization that these animals -- some mutated, some recoiling -- seem to be reacting to our watching presence. There is a deeper interaction between human and object: we are the hunters, the scientists, the destroyers. Yet, we can also identify with the emotions and postures embodied in these frozen animal portraits. We can empathize with this kind of vulnerability and fear. We too curl into the fetal position and withdraw from those who wish to harm us; we too run with our tails between our legs.

In her artist statement, Stichter writes:
Both human and animal interactions show patterns of intricate, subliminal gestures that betray intent and motivation. The things we leave unsaid are far more important than the words we speak out-loud to one another. I have learned to read meaning in the subtler signs; a look, the way one holds one's hands, the tightening of muscles in the shoulders, the incline of the head, the rhythm of a walk, and the slightest unconscious gestures. I rely on animal body language in my work as a metaphor for these underlying patterns, transforming the animal subjects into human psychological portraits. I want to pry at those uncomfortable, awkward edges between animal and human. The figures are feral and uneasy, expressing frustration for the human tendency towards cruelty and lack of understanding. Entangled in their own internal and external struggles, the figures are engaged with the subjects of fear, apathy, violence and powerlessness.

With this in mind, Stichter curated The Animal Instinct. The artists she invited to participate in the exhibition are like-minded creators who take inspiration from wild creatures who are untamed, untouched, and unpretentious. Featured artist Pamela Earnshaw Kelly creates large scale sculptures of wild and domestic animals like horses and goats. Another invitee Adelaide Paul works mainly with canine subjects; her sculptures raise awareness for ethical treatment of animals and have taken on such weighty topics as the use of euthanization as a means of population control for domestic animals. Vessel-makers Kurt Weiser and Ken Ferguson take different approaches to the integration of animal imagery into their work. Every inch of Weiser's organic pottery is china-painted with scenes of lush woodland wildlife, like frogs and deer, while Ferguson is best known for his signature rabbit-handled pottery. These artists and many more make up the roster for an exciting exhibition.

After closing at Baltimore Clayworks, The Animal Instinct will tour to the Gudelsky Gallery at the School of Art and Design at Montgomery College in Silver Spring, giving our community a second opportunity to view experience and enjoy this distinctive and diverse show. The continuing display will run from February 19 to April 1 to coincide with Tour de Clay and NCECA 2005.

Article by Stacy Spikowsky

Endless Variations: Shino Review 2005 Catalog CD: $15 plus shipping

Purchase the CD rom catalog today for only $15 plus shipping. Features a complete curator's statement from Malcolm Davis, images of all the works in the show, biographies, the shino recipes and statements from each of the artists all on one CD rom. To order call 410-578-1919 or click here.

In conjunction with Tour de Clay and NCECA (the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts), Baltimore Clayworks will be hosting a total of five exhibitions. Our main exhibition gallery will showcase Endless Variations: Shino Review 2005, an exhibition curated by shino master and Baltimore Clayworks member artist, Malcolm Davis, featuring 123 shino pieces by 123 artists from across the country and Canada. Endless Variations runs February 19 – April 3, 2005, with an opening reception on Saturday, February 19 from 6-9pm. Simultaneously, Baltimore Clayworks will also showcase a solo exhibition featuring the evocative vessels of Richard DeVore and the popular traveling exhibit, the 2004 International Cone Box Exhibition. During the week of NCECA, running March 14-19, we will host an additional two exhibits in our studio building: Clay in Common: Baltimore Clayworks Member Artist Exhibition and Studio Tour and Clay-Connected: A Baltimore Clayworks Juried Student Exhibition.

In Malcolm's words, Endless Variations will be flooded “with all manner of shino pots, white and gray, peach and salmon, fat and thick, quiet and dramatic, big and small, crazed and crackled, crawled and pitted, and maybe a little carbon trapping.” In addition, he states, “Some of the work shown here might be difficult to recognize as traditional shino work; in fact, some is not traditional at all, but represents innovative ways of working with shino glazes in combination with others glazes, slips, oxides, as well as a variety of glazing and firing techniques.”

The informed Surface CD Catalog: $15 plus shipping and handling.

Purchase the CD rom catalog today for only $15 plus shipping, click here.
To order by phone call 410-578-1919

Baltimore Clayworks is pleased to offer our 2005 Exhibition Catalog Collection to you this holiday season in a special boxed set edition.

A must for every clay lover! Available as a set only during the holiday season. This  CD collection is viewable on both Macintosh and PC's through Adobe ® Reader®, which is included for download on this CDs.

The Animal Instinct, an exhibition curated by ceramic sculptor Beth Cavener Stichter ran from January 8 to February 12, 2005. This invitational exhibition featured work from Stichter and 19 exceptional artists who work with animal imagery in both sculpture and functional works.

Baltimore Clayworks was honored to host the 2005 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. One of the highlights of the event was an invitational exhibition of ceramic works that used variations of the Shino glaze, curated by Malcolm Davis. Endless Variations: Shino Review 2005 featured the works of over 120 artists exhibiting their best examples of the use of Shino.

From October 15 - November 13, 2005 The Informed Surface: Contemporary Majolica, a national invitational exhibition curated by Linda Arbuckle, was in the Baltimore Clayworks gallery and featured 25 artists from the United States and Canada. 

Purchase the CD rom catalog today for only $35.00 (shipping additional)
To order by phone call 410-578-1919