Shoko's Portfolio

Shoko's Portfolio

things i am lovin!

Thank you Toshiko Takaezu!

“the clay has much to say” -toshiko takaezu

 

 

i'm taking a minute today to celebrate one of the greatest potters in this country. toshiko takaezua passed yesterday.  A truly inspriring role model,  she left an incredible legacy for world of pottery.  She left an impression on this world that is indellible.

toshiko takaezua documentary

its just kinda my thing...

another one of my favorite contemporary artists:

SWOON

SWOON's work is street art, life-sized, cut-out, wheat paste prints and paper cutouts of figures. Her realistically rendered characters draw from life, often featuring her friends and family as characters going about everyday activities in a unique landscape of her own invention. Architectural elements become lacy patterns of light and shadow, the pieces are often flowy and uniquely delicate. Using paper shapes and inked prints, her use of both positive image and negative space hints at a broad range of inspiration. Inspired by both art historical and folk sources, ranging from German Expressionist wood block prints to Indonesian shadow puppets, SWOON is a master of using cut paper to play with positive and negative space in a conceptually driven exploration of the experience of the streets.The gestural nature of her drawings, the contrast between the dark gestural lines of the figures and the soft lacy backgrounds creates a tension that to me is breath taking.  The impermanence of her work, much like the fleeting moments she captures add to the drama of her work.She is a modern day rebel female icon! 

its just the kinda thing i dig...

lovin' this

hello insomnia my old friend... BUT cool things happen when i dont sleep! found this blog via etsy .... lovin it! felt like i needed to share.
http://www.missmoss.co.za/
lots of fun and colorful to stuff to inspire, with some witty musings to entertain...

love, peace and light.

~trista

seriously intrigued

the art of margaret kilgallen

i recently watched an art documentary called "Beautiful Losers". the movie was about a group of what i might call modern-day-urban-folk-artists. this group of "street artists" (yep, graffiti) formed what came to be known as the mission artists in san francisco.  i wont  recap the entire movie, (but if you are into that kind of thing, i highly recommend watching it for yourself). i was so inspired by several of the artists featured in the movie. the one that spoke to me the most though was margaret kilgallen. it was like i met my art soul sister or something. inspired by southwestern and mexican artists, folk art, and the handpainted taquerria signs in california, her work is romatic graphic art, often in super large format. known as a graffiti artist under the tag names "Meta" and "Matokie Slaughter."the latter name, a homage to folk musician Matokie Slaughter, was specifically used for freight train graffiti, a hobo tradition that strongly influenced her work. kilgallen was an accomplished banjo player and became an avid surfer after moving to California. i am amazed and inpired by her work, and her life.  margaret tragically left this earth too early in 2001, but her legacy will live on in the women whose life she ectched with her beautiful and simple illustrations.

its everything...

why is art and pottery everything i see? everything i do?

my favorite of the seas shells are the broken  remnants of conch shells. i love it when the big curved planes of the shell fall away, leaving only the graceful spiral curve that makes the skeleton. the spiral is the heart of a wheel thrown pot. i see spirals  everywhere. they are something i've always taken note of and admired: the conch, to the muscles wrapping the human form, the eddies of a river, the swirls in the clouds, or a horses coat... this leads me to my next question. was i always meant to be a potter? or did i become a potter because i loved the spiral? it is  innate? or coincidence?

or i am ridiculous for bothering to wonder about these things?

maybe. probably...

but as a potter, and a person, i find myself constantly reviewing the interconectedness of the world. its hard not to....earth, garden, clay, dirt, food, life. love.

home

the pottery will be closed from october 31st thru november 9th.

i've been away from the blog for bit. i apologize. it seems that as tourist season rolls away and the business is slowing down, the rest of life has picked up. sometimes nearly franticly. i am still working hard to create a glaze in the electric kiln that truly motivates me and inspires me. i'm getting closer. i am starting to find some combinations thats work...but alas i am not sure that the magic of fire will ever be truly replaced. sigh.

anyhoo.  i'm going home for a little while. i am so excited to catch up with old friends and spend some time with my family. also, i desperately need to hold some other peoples pots :).i need to see the pots of people who i look up to. gallery tour -  western nc!! i  cant wait for some inspiration.

so excited for hills and cool night time air. when i'm in the mountains i feel like i can get lost in the tucks and rolls of the hills and become one with nature. its an amazing feeling being closer to the sky and closer to the earth at the exact same time. kind of spiritual... (i m a nerd).

highway 209 near our farm in the mountains.

sunset in fines creek, nc

while i'm home i going to visit some fellow potters at a great show in dillsboro nc. http://www.wncpotteryfestival.com/  if you are around, check it out!

for now, thanks for reading and see you soon!