Robert Bush came to Penland this summer as a session four student in Jana Harper’s class “The What & the Why: Books as Idea Generators.” The class was part of a one-month sabbatical from his job as president of the Arts & Science Council in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a first-time Penland student, Robert arrived on campus with “a zeal for the creative process” but without much experience in the visual arts.
Writing about his experience later for the ASC blog, Robert reflected:
“I could recount the 12 hour days, ‘one word’ prompts each afternoon that required a book be made for a 10 a.m. group show and critique the next morning, the mistakes I made….let’s just say I now understand ‘make it work’ and I held my own. I totally stepped away from my job and the world (no TV, barely internet) for two weeks, immersed myself in an unfamiliar setting doing unfamiliar things. It was nothing I expected and everything I had hoped for.”
He finished his essay with a list of the gifts—both personal and professional—that his time at Penland had given him. They’re a valuable reminder of the enriching role art can play in our lives and the importance of “being present and engaged in community.”
When viewing sculptor Eric Knoche’s work, it’s clear he has a facility with form. And when he describes his forms, it’s clear that he finds a lot of inspiration in the clay he works with. As he recently explained in an interview, “Clay is just such an amazing material, and you can work it so many ways; additive and subtractive processes work equally well, it is both demanding and forgiving, it can be softer than water and as hard as stone, as delicate as an eggshell and more durable than anything else humans have ever made. It changes from second to second as you work with it, which creates a feedback loop or a dialog. For me, the material itself is endlessly fascinating.”
Eric’s clay forms are deceptively simple. Squiggled lines and arcs gain volume and edges to become three-dimensional surfaces that draw the viewer in from multiple angles. His pieces suggest common objects and quick doodles at the same time as they evoke ancient architecture and the earth itself. Some are small enough to hold in a hand, while others stand as tall as person. “I think of my work as one installation stretching through time as space, each piece adding meaning to the others,” Eric writes in his artist statement. “I have been strongly influenced by languages I don’t understand and tools I don’t know how to use, male and female figures, machine parts, shelters, math equations, micro-facial movements, the Argentine tango, alphabets, the spine and other bones, the distortional nature of memory, the limits of ocular perception, plants, running water, and songbirds.”
Eric at work on a piece in his Asheville studio. Photo by Frank J. Bott.
We are looking forward to bringing Eric to Penland this fall to teach a 1-week workshop November 1-7, 2015. The class will focus on using handbuilding techniques to realize sculptural goals, and we expect it to be jam-packed with insights. After all, Eric is the guy who likes to create clay pieces that are as large as he is to challenge himself technically. “I have no proprietary information,” he states. “I’ll tell anybody anything they want to know about anything I do.” In other words, this week will be pure gold for anyone interested in creating forms with clay. To reserve your spot, register here.
Handbuilding Laboratory
Eric Knoche
November 1-7, 2015 In this class we’ll blur the lines between pinching, coiling, slab work, and modeling in order to open up more possibilities in the world of handbuilt ceramics. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the clay itself as we establish a paradigm of creative problem solving and develop a personal set of integrated methods that most expeditiously accomplish each student’s artistic goals. We’ll look at various ways to successfully construct large work, intricate work, and multiple-piece sculptures using simple tools and processes such as tarpaper templates and clay armatures. All levels. Code F03CB
Studio artist; presenter at first European Woodfire Conference (Germany), guest lecturer at Australian National University; Ceramics Monthly emerging artist; exhibitions: Blue Spiral 1 (NC), Baltimore Clay Works, AKAR Design Gallery (IA), Mint Museum (NC), Hjorths Fabrik (Denmark), Gallerei Klosterformat (Germany); collections: Mint Museum (NC), Mission Hospital (NC).
En Iwamura arranges ceramic elements he sculpted for his animation sequence “Mature Table Manner”
Many people who have spent time around Penland know Cristina Córdova, a former Penland resident and established ceramic artist whose studio is just down the hill from the Penland Gallery. Cristina’s sought-after sculptures are figurative and expressive, often mesmerizing and sometimes haunting. Once you’ve seen her deft and intuitive approach to clay and the human form, it’s not hard to see why one of her workshops would produce some very compelling art.
But this summer’s Sculpture in Motion class was far more than just remarkable ceramic sculpture. To teach the course, Cristina teamed up with her younger brother Arturo Córdova, an artist in his own right. Arturo trained as an animator and also works out of Brooklyn, NY to build sets and props for commercials and films. Together, they proposed and developed a workshop that combined both of their talents together in the form of stop-motion animation.
Students in Sculpture in Motion first constructed intricate ceramic sculptures, each one articulated to allow for re-positionable movement. Next they built sets for their figures to inhabit. Once these visual pieces were in place, they used digital software to shoot individual frames and compile them into animation sequences. Somehow, all of this work fit into one two-and-a-half week whirlwind, and the results are bursting with the session’s creative energy. From a cartoon rabbit and a blooming flower to curling tentacles and disappearing heads, the animations are as varied as they are awesome. View clips from the workshop here, and prepare to be impressed.
