2024 Christmas Crawl Studio Tour

The recent Thanksgiving Studio Tour is one I will remember: fabulous weather and constant flow of visitors showing genuine interest into my work, nurturing my passion for Clay and Brush...

MERCI!

Members of the Nanoose Bay Studio Tour are now back at work replenishing their shelves and/or tables and/or walls for the December event:

Nanoose Bay Studio Tour Christmas Crawl, 

December 7th & 8th, 10am - 4pm

More details about the participating artists, their studio number and a map to their studio will be available on our website in the coming weeks at

https://www.nbst.ca/

In my studio on Beachcomber peninsula, I have been busy making new clay work. I already took part, with the members of the Tozan Society, in a 40 hour long woodfiring in Cedar and I am now getting ready for another firing, 58 hour long this time, end of November -weather permitting of course. 

There will be new pieces on my shelves for the Christmas Crawl!

SEASCAPE
Chinese ink and watercolour on Stonehenge paper, 8" x 30" 
Unframed archival prints / $100

For more than 8 years, I had the privilege to be living almost at the tip of the Beachcomber Peninsula in Nanoose Bay, only 5 minutes walk away from its unique Beachcomber Regional Park.

My studio/gallery is a quiet place where I spend a lot of time, always feeling at peace.

As soon as a clay object or a brush exploration is completed, it is displayed in the gallery section.

It is always a great pleasure to have visitors stopping by and I enjoy explaining how  "pots" and "paintings" came to life.

 FEEL WELCOME TO STOP BY AT

1372 PILOT WAY, NANOOSE BAY(corner of Marina Way)

ESPECIALLY IF MY OPEN SIGNS ARE UP.

YOU CAN ALSO PHONE OR TEXT ME BEFORE COMING

OR EVEN FROM THE DRIVEWAY: 

250-240-2366

mariepaquette@shaw.ca

ONE INK STROKE WITH A CEDAR BARK BRUSH

silencing the mind

emptying it of any intention

of any expectation

 

hand, arm and body

moving the brush

in harmony with the breath

eye gazing on the white of the paper 

ahead of the stroke taking shape

 

putting the brush to rest

welcoming a unique stroke

complete and perfect 

marie

In the following 20-second video,

my dear friend Ann Gruchy captured

the unpredictable dance of a cedar bark brush:

“You don’t know what’s going to happen – it’s like flying.” 

(Kazuaki Tanahashi, “Brush Mind”) 

For more about how I came to explore with cedar bark brushes, see full text published on line in the Island Arts Magazine, issue #54

https://islandartsmag.ca/

BEACHCOMBER IMPRESSIONS: A UNIQUE LINE OF CLAY OBJECTS

Weather permitting, I walk to Beachcomber Park with small blocks of clay looking for interesting rock formation to press my clay against; I need a surface that once imprinted into the clay will give a "rocky" character to it. Then I start carving out the clay to create a container: a goblet, a box or little vases.

Stoneware, 5" x 3.5' x 1.5" / $55

Some other times, I press a slab instead of a block onto the rocks, stretching it at the same time; it can then become a plate or be shaped as a vase. 

It is a perfect activity for warm sunny days when the rocks are dry!

Stoneware, 5.5" high x 3.75" in diameter/SOLD

READ MORE ABOUT THESE 

"PLEIN AIR CLAYING" SESSIONS
IN THE ON-LINE ISSUE #50/JUNE-AUGUST OF
ISLAND ARTS MAGAZINE 

DÉMARCHE ARTISTIQUE - CLAY PROCESS

(POUR UNE VERSION EN FRANÇAIS, VOIR PLUS BAS)

I approach clay with attention rather than intention and only have a vague idea of what the final object might look like. It is by paying attention to how clay responds to manipulations that I can see the new object coming to life, the form suggesting itself through the different stages of the shaping process. I like to think I work in collaboration with clay.

Details are addressed with care, taking the time needed to resolve any issues the best I can at this point in time. Glazing is also a very important step: each object, in its uniqueness, requires a surface decoration that –hopefully- will add up to a harmonious whole, taking into account the atmospheric reduction of a wood firing kiln as well as the large part played by toasting flames and melting ash. Finally, I surrender my clay objects to the fire never knowing what to expect while hoping, all through the intense hours of stoking, for unpredictable surprises!

J’approche l'argile avec attention plutôt qu'avec intention. Je n'ai au départ qu'une vague idée de ce dont l'objet aura l'air en bout de ligne. C'est en portant attention à la façon dont l'argile répond à la manipulation que je vois la forme de l'objet se suggérer aux différentes étapes du façonnage. J'aime croire que je travaille en collaboration avec l'argile.

Je soigne les détails, prends le temps nécessaire pour résoudre les problèmes au meilleur de ma connaissance. La décoration est une étape très importante : chaque objet est unique et sa surface demande donc un traitement qui, je l'espère, en fera un tout harmonieux. Je garde en tête la réduction atmosphérique du four à bois, les flammes qui caresseront et rôtiront l'objet et les cendres qui, en fondant, se transformeront en une glaçure naturelle. Je confie mes objets d'argile au feu sans jamais vraiment savoir à quoi m'attendre mais espérant, tout au long des intenses heures de cuisson, d’heureuses surprises!