International Woman's Day- Elizabeth Catlett

                                         March is Women's History Month

                                 In celebration of Elizabeth Catlett, Sculptor

Elizabeth Catlett was born in 1915 in Washington, DC.  She earned her BS  cum laud from Howard University in 1935 and her MFA in 1940 from the University of Iowa's School of Art and Art History. She became the first woman to head the sculpture department at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, School of Fine Arts in 1958.She received the International Sculpture Center's (ISC) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.The visionary life and work of this powerful artist is inspiring.  At 96 years young, she continues to exhibit her works in sculpture and printmaking. 

   Elizabeth Catlett we salute you!

Kathryn McBride

Kathryn McBride "Loaded with Potential"

Kathryn Mc Bride left us for the Great Kilns in the Sky this winter 2012. 

A kind and generous person who created wonderful and poetic tromp l"oeil sculpture has been taken from this world.  She was the type of person and artist who wanted to talk about your work.  She was humble, kind and extremely gifted. These are the types that seem to get out fast.

I feel her spirit above me in the Pacific air,in the light dancing off the ocean.  She inspired us with her grace and her poetry. The craftsmanship within her works is remarkable.  Her poetic narrative is captivating.

 I want to see more of her work.  She left some beautiful art behind and touched many students at Cabrillo College along with all her compadres. She made her beautiful mark.

 I wish I had known her better.  We shared the same alma mater, SFSU. 

She made us all proud.

 To know the artist is something special, a hidden peek within the CREATIVE.  She is one of our own and it is a heavy loss. The beautiful delicacy of her spirit will remain.

Minoan Pottery

               "Nature Always wears the colors of the Spirit."

                                                              Ralph Waldo Emerson

Minoan Jar

Minoan Jar from Knossos 1425 BCE with Papyrus decoration. Housed in the Heraklion Museum, Crete.

                              Marine Style  Minoan Ovoid Rhyton from Palaikastro, Crete.  

The interlocking scallop design forms a wavy pattern of bubble shapes that appear to rise towards the top of this tapered vessel.  The calligraphic elegance of the strong staccato lines running vertically up the sides of this vessel provides a poetic unity to the composition.  

Bridge spouted Jar from Aghia Triada, Crete 1500-1400 BCE,

  

Shard of a Marine Style Jar from Heraklion Museum, Crete.

This lovely shard has an exceptionally fine slip painted design.  The brush marks show a fresh and improvisational quality.  The combination of thick and thin lines create a lovely filagree.  This shard retains it's aura of exquisite beauty, even in its battered state,

Minoan Abstract Spiral Stirrup Jar from Kato Zacros, Crete

The spiral is a universal symbol replete with meaning.  It suggests motion, growth, transformation and directional force.  The  motif is sometimes related to the solar calender and reflects the rhythm of the seasons.

The powerful element of Line and its infinite capacity to describe rhythm and motion, its ability to evoke emotional response from fury to serenity, is employed gracefully through the hands of the Minoan potter.

Tension is created between the lyric freshness of the brushstroke and the expert control of the tools and materials.  The slip decorations suggest a highly evolved method of improvisation and artistic virtuosity.  Possessing vitality, breath, ease and fluidity, the innovative wares of the middle to late Minoan period remain a high point of artistic achievement in the ancient world.