All Fired Up

“ALL FIRED UP!” AT LASDON PARK AND ARBORETUM, MUSCOOT FARM AND WARD POUND RIDGE RESERVATION

Westchester County Parks’ “Art in Parks” program will showcase the work of four clay artists in three different parks as part of “All Fired Up! A Celebration of Clay in Westchester,” a first-ever countywide exhibition and celebration of the clay media. Art in Parks is a program that brings short- and long-term exhibitions of artwork to County Parks for the benefit of visitors of all ages and interests. The Art in Parks-featured artists come from as near as Mount Vernon, New York to Massachusetts, Tennessee and southern Quebec.

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All Fired Up! A Celebration of Clay in Westchester takes place from October 3 through November 30, 2008 at 60 venues throughout the county. This consortium project is being organized by the Westchester Arts Council and the Clay Art Center, with a steering committee of eight cultural institutions. All Fired Up will include parallel exhibitions of regional, national and international works of art that explore the breadth and depth of ceramic expression ranging from fine art, folk art, historical and contemporary works.

“Scattered Galaxy” an exhibition of the work of Michel Louis Viala will be installed on the lush sweeping grounds amidst gardens and groves of trees at Lasdon Park and Arboretum in Somers, New York. Each of the Raku-fired garden sculptures of Michel Viala has a unique texture and color that is produced by the fire and smoke process that comprises the essence of Raku-fired ceramics.

Viala lives in Pigeon Hill, Quebec. He attended the Universite de Vincennes, Paris from 1968 to 1970, and received a Lettres modernes. He received a teaching certificate in “Computers and Teaching” from the Universite du Quebec a Montreal in 1987. Viala established a pottery studio for hand-thrown earthenware production in Paris in 1974 to educate children and adults. In 1976 he established a cooperative studio in Pigeon Hill, Quebec, and has spent time teaching numerous computer art courses and workshops as well as working as a clay artist. He has had n numerous exhibitions in galleries through Montreal and Quebec.

Michel is affiliated with several artist groups in Quebec. He is an active member of the artist’s centre and gallery, Action Art Actuel in St. Jean sur Richeliue as well as a founding member and coordinator of the studio tour “la tournee des 20” since 1995

“My abstract ceramic sculptures are intended to incite activity in the imagination of the onlooker,” Viala said. “The non-descriptive style of the sculptures is intentional to allow the inclinations of the imagination to roam at will so the sculptures become part of his or her indoor or outdoor environment, imaginary or otherwise. I like to use both Raku and soda firing techniques to create the sculptures as they tend to create surfaces that will reflect aspects of the ambient light, especially in a natural environment. The setting is an integral part of the sculpture as is the light that plays on the individual pieces of the sculptures, each module being cast in a particular role. The Raku and soda firing techniques develop textures and colors on the one-of-a-kind modules. Every sculpture and each module is unique; each one is transformed by the soda, fire and smoke of the firing and enlivened by the effects of the flame. At best the sculptures are symbiotic with their environment as well as the beholder’s imagination.”

Lasdon Park and Arboretum is a magnificent 234 acre property consisting of woodlands, open grass meadows and formal gardens with flower and shrub specimens from all over the world. It is located on Route 35 in Somers, New York. The park is open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. For further information, call (914) 864-7263.

“Birds and Beasts” by Susan Halls will grace Muscoot Farm in Somers, New York. “Birds and Beasts” will highlight the artist’s affection for and fascination with the diversity of animals.

These rabbits are sure to delight children and parents when they find them in the yard surrounded by the herb garden waiting to be petted and played with by young visitors. These larger-than-life bunnies are in stark contrast to the exhibition of Halls’ smaller works that will be displayed inside the farm’s Main House Gallery. The gallery is open on weekends from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Halls’ small pieces will be prominently displayed on mantelpieces and select pieces of period furniture.

Susan, who was born in Kent, England, credits her early interest and enthusiasm for art to the nurturing of a gifted high school teacher. Her teacher was convinced that she had an affinity for clay and encouraged her to apply to the local art school. From 1984 to 1988 she studied ceramics at the Medway College of Art in Kent. She received her Masters degree with distinction at the Royal college of Art in London in 1990.

Susan spent six months in a residency at the Banff Center for the Arts in Canada, and upon returning to London set up her studio with the help of a grant from British Crafts Council to purchase materials and equipment. Susan became known throughout the UK and Europe had many exhibitions, and as result began to lecture at art schools in the UK. She was appointed as a faculty member of ceramics and glass at the Manchester Metropolitan University.

In 1998 Susan married Chris Murphy, and moved to the United States. Susan and Chris live in Easthampton, Massachusetts.

“I've been interested in large scale ceramics since my student days in England.

This combined with a keen interest in Greek and Roman terracotta has culminated in a body of work which plays on the traditional genre of garden statuary.

Fired clay is always at home out of doors – aging to the rhythm of the seasons and becoming as much a part of the landscape as any tree or rock. This fact is overlooked with the current trend and over use of synthetic materials masquerading as garden sculpture.

“My long-standing obsession with animals manifests itself in these meaty, Bully Boy rabbits, who are anything but passive. The drama of the en-masse effect makes an immediate impact on the viewer. They will look stunning at Muscoot Farm.”

Using a simple press molding technique, small ‘genetic’ changes can be made to each piece. Each has its own unique ears as they are all thrown on the potter’s wheel. The facial expressions can also differ through simple modeling variations in the post molding stage.

“I enjoy this element of individualism; it prevents the work from becoming too uniform and manufactured.”

Muscoot Farm was originally a “gentleman’s farm” owned by the Hopkins Family who used it as their summer home and dairy farm from 1880 to 1924. Today Muscoot is an interpretive farm where visitors can walk through historic buildings of a dairy farm, visit with farm animals, enjoy hayrides, participate in craft programs, nature discovery hikes and much more. Muscoot Farm is located on Route 100 in Somers, New York. For more information call 864-7282.

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is a destination for art lovers in the northern part of Westchester County providing visitors with two galleries and a mowed sculpture trail. The galleries are located at the main entrance of the county’s largest park, comprising more than 4,000 acres of rolling fields and woodlands. Gallery in the Park is located in the historic 18^th century Benedict home, and shares space with the park office.

Gallery in the Park is pleased to present two clay artists for the “All Fired Up!” exhibition. The contemporary work of Keith Renner and Sally Brogden will be featured. Opening day festivities for both artists will take place on October 4, 2008.

Keith Renner is an artist and educator. Porcelain, fused cement living in Mount Vernon, New York. Originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he received a BFA from Tyler School of Art Temple University in 2000 and an MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale 2003. Renner’s abstract sculptures revolve around a process of combining traditional ceramic materials with “fused cement,” a material that he has developed. His work has been displayed in numerous exhibitions across the United States.

“Keith Renner: New Work” will be installed outside the front entrance to Gallery in the Park. His hard edged construction will strike an interesting contrast to the historic building and the lush foliage that surrounds the park in the fall.

“My work references the human-made landscape and the natural landscape. More specifically, where those two worlds meet, collide, or come together harmoniously. I am intrigued by the effects of nature on our human-made world. On a monumental scale, buildings and cities can become archeological remains, altered and consumed by time and nature. In the specifics of walking around the city, a tree envelopes fence posts and pushes away concrete. Such moments are intriguing and inspiring to me. My work attempts to capture the sense that if you looked long enough, you might see something happen. The work speaks about the power of nature beyond human control, nature taking over in its own slow and beautiful way.

I combine traditional ceramic materials of clay and glaze with “fused cement, which is a castable material created from careful combinations of clay, glaze, and cement and then exposed to an extreme amount of heat. During the creation process my work changes: it warps, cracks, moves, and the two materials push and pull at each other. Many of these changes are beyond my control and bring a narrative quality to each piece. I search for forms that are vague yet simultaneously suggestive. My hope is to intellectually engage the viewer into a thoughtful dialogue with the work and its suggestive qualities, and at the same time appreciate them for their aesthetic beauty”

“Sally Brogden: Recent Works” will be shown at the Gallery in the Park. Brogden’s work is representative of the abstract form. She is influenced by the human form, nature and mass produced objects. Her work eschews a style that invites her viewers to compare her pieces to familiar yet at the same time unknown objects. These objects will invite the viewer to touch them for their seeming softness and luxuriousness as well to appreciate them for their form and composition.

“My work focuses on simple abstract from. I am fascinated by the associations we make as we interpret the world around us, and it is my hope to create objects with a broad and ambiguous reference; forms that are perplexing due to their many allusions. My work draws upon references to human form, nature and mass- produced objects. They reflect my fascination with ambiguity. Embracing the plumpness of anatomical form as well as the symmetrical rigidity of machine-tooled objects, I strive to heighten potential readings”

Sally has Art History and Studio degrees from the University of Michigan and MFA from the University of Michigan and an MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Her work has been exhibited throughout the country and abroad. Sally was one of 50 artists selected for the exhibition “Taking Measure: American Ceramic Art at the New Millennium,” curated for the world ceramics conference in Yeoju, Korea. Sally has received numerous grants and has been an artist-in-residence at the Archie Bray Foundation, where she now serves on the Board of Directors. Her work has been included in numerous books and catalogs including Ceramics: A Potter’s Handbook; The Craft and Art of Clay; A Ceramic Continuum: Fifty Years of the Archie Bray Influence; Taking Measure: American Ceramic art at the New Millennium, 2001; and Clay Odyssey: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Archie Bray Foundation. Her recent exhibitions include Ceramic Center, Berlin, Germany; Vertigo Gallery, Denver, CO; Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR; Maryland Arts Council, Baltimore; Phillips Museum of Art, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA; Belger Art District, Kansas City, MO; Ichon World Ceramic Center, Kyonggii Province, Korea; Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT; “NCECA National,” Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC; and the Shanghai International Art Fair, Shanghai, China.

Sally makes objects that embrace the precision of a mass-produced object and the softness or voluptuousness of anatomical from. She is interested in the memory of touch, the memory of a glance, the memory of the sensual.

From October 3 to November 30, 2008, 60 venues throughout Westchester County will join together to present All Fired Up! A Celebration of Clay in Westchester. This consortium project is being organized by the Westchester Arts Council and the Clay Art Center, with a steering committee of eight cultural institutions. All Fired Up! will include parallel exhibitions of regional, national, and international works of art that explore the breadth and depth of ceramic expression - from folk arts to fine arts, historical to contemporary. There will be exhibitions and related activities in virtually every region of the county. Workshops, symposia, films and other activities are planned—some geared to the general public, others to students and educators, still others for specialists such as artists, art historians and collectors. The scope of activities—from introductory workshops to master classes for established artists; from in-school artist residencies to a summer teacher’s institute — will reflect the range, diversity and expertise of the consortium members.

All Fired Up! is made possible in part through funding provided by a grant from the Empire State Development Corporation, and through grants awarded to the Westchester Arts Council from the National Endowment for the Arts, from the Art and Business Council of New York, and from Westchester County Government, with additional support from media sponsor Ceramics Monthly.

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