Reflections from 2023 Kira Fournier Scholarship Recipient Maureen Mills

When I found out I received the Kira Fournier Scholarship to attend the North Country Studio Workshop with Chris Staley this past January, I cried. I knew Kira and Ben and worked closely with them at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen for years. Our professional and personal relationships meant a great deal to me, and I felt like this opportunity was a very special way to honor that.

I have attended NCSW a number of times, and every time it helped me think through my own work and take time to explore a new idea. That happened very differently this time.

A large part of the experience were the participants in this year’s wheel workshop with Chris Staley. Everyone participated at a very high level of professionalism, whether they were potters, or teachers, or designers. While most participants had a high level of skill with clay, even that didn’t matter. Everyone participated on a level playing field, because it was more than a workshop about just making.

Nearly every participant was there for the same reason, to share the time with Chris Staley. His reputation as a thinker and a maker preceded him, and while we all watched him work through some demonstrations, we also did drawing exercises together, did writing exercises together, shared readings, worked on the wheel together, shared in collaborations too. Everyone at one point or another shared their vulnerabilities. Every day exposed something new and even raw in each of us. Tears of emotion were shed and shared regularly, by each of us in turn, including Chris.

I don’t think a single one of us came to the workshop just to see how Chris did something on the wheel. He did work on and off the wheel and shared his philosophies, and we watched and listened; it was meaningful to each of us individually and as a group.

On the last day of the workshop, Chris gave a gift of a small porcelain bowl to each of us. Mine was a simple hemispherical bowl with a thick satin finish in a pale blue celadon. We were, again, all moved to tears by the generosity and thoughtfulness of the gift. I returned home with my bowl and went about daily living with it on the kitchen table. Some days I filled it with fruit, some days with candy. Every day I picked it up, held it, examined it, and enjoyed its shape, color, texture, brightness; in short, every single thing about it. I was taken with its simplicity and elegance, and I knew it had more to say to me.

One day after lunch I said out loud to my husband, “Oh my gosh, I know what I have to do! I need to do my text and texture work in porcelain!” The clarity I experienced in this realization is something I did not expect. And upon considering more about why this felt so right, I realized that for me, working with porcelain would be diametrically opposed to my current stoneware work from a wood kiln.

I surprised myself to have come to this conclusion; I have resisted working in porcelain because it is fussy and requires a particular kind of attention that stoneware doesn’t. While my stoneware work has focused on layers of pattern and even color, what interests me is doing my text and texture work in porcelain is allowing the process and not the material to dictate where the work goes. Allowing for thick or irregular forms and working toward soft finishes is where I can begin to embrace porcelain.

I’ve learned not to put too much pressure on myself during a workshop, to allow for the experience to unfold at its own pace. My experience that week was unmatched by other experiences, and it will remain with me, and in my work, and continue to unfold.

STUDIO DEMONSTRATION

CUP CRITIQUE

COLLABORATION EXERCISE

WORKSHOP POTS & DRAWINGS

PORCELAIN DISH

MOON VASE

You can find Maureen’s work at https://www.sliptrail.com/ and on instagram.

Photos by Maureen Mills

Scheduling Update: Looking ahead to a brighter future

Dear NCSW Friends,

It is hard to believe that just over a year ago in January 2020 we were gathered in community for a fantastic week of workshops at Bennington College. So much has changed in the world since then, bringing numerous challenges for everyone. Although the pandemic still has no clear end date, there has been positive progress with the vaccine and it is my sincere hope that we will see increased relief from the pandemic throughout 2021 and beyond.

As we look to a brighter future, North Country Studio Workshops remains concerned about how we would safely and confidently plan to gather for a week of in-person workshops in January 2022 - less than a year away. With input from Bennington, we have carefully considered numerous precautions such as requiring testing and/or proof of vaccine, limiting the number of participants, modifying workspaces, and limiting participant interactions by creating pods for each workshop. We have also examined the challenges participants would face when trying to determine if they are comfortable and confident when it was time to register and attend. Through these difficult discussions, the safety, enjoyment, and enrichment of all involved have been paramount.

In response to these concerns, North Country Studio Workshops has made the decision to reschedule our next workshops at Bennington to January 2023. This change will allow us to plan for our next workshops with a better understanding of the course of the pandemic and any precautions still required while enabling participants to register and attend with greater confidence. Through conversation, feedback, and surveys we know that one of the most important aspects of North Country Studio Workshops is the sense of creative community it offers to those who attend. By rescheduling to 2023, our goal is to offer an outstanding program that maintains and enhances that community in a safe and welcoming environment.

Additionally, this rescheduling offers us the opportunity to engage and expand our audience by offering alternative programming on a smaller scale in 2021 and 2022. We will also be using this time to develop a strategic plan; build relationships with other organizations; strengthen our focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and use our social media platforms to connect with more people as we shine a light on the world of art and craft.

We will keep you updated on upcoming programming and January 2023 faculty announcements through our social media, e-newsletter, and website. I encourage you to reach out to us at any time and we look forward to connecting with you soon.

All my very best,

Victoria Su

Ann Saunderson: Work, Words, Wisdom

North Country’s Planning Committee is graced by many wonderful working artists. Among them is Ann Saunderson, who has been attending our workshops since 2005 and has served on both the Planning Committee and the Board of Directors.

Ann’s work is often inspired by the natural world, and by man-made adaptations to the natural world. Many of her pieces are filled with beautiful lighting effects, with rich color, and with evocations of her emotional response to the beauty around her. More recently, she has been working on a series called “Disasters” — a dark and disturbing series of images, which she calls “metaphors for the current chaos.”

Last month Ann was featured in an article in the Boston Voyager. (Click the title to read the entire piece.) She talked about her early life, her career as an art teacher, and her approach to getting work done. And near the end of the piece, when asked by the interviewer, she provided words of advice and experience that we would all do well to heed, whether in art or in life.

Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
Courage. I wish I had courage. Even now, it’s so hard for me to get out of my studio and ‘put myself forth’. It’s just not who I am.

If you are just starting out, I think getting gallery representation can be difficult, at least here in New Hampshire. Applying to juried exhibits — especially those with themes that intrigue you — can help to get your work out there and give you a chance to meet with gallery directors. Having a group of artists who will critique your work, keep you posted about shows and exhibit possibilities, tell you to stop whining… and give you a kick in the pants… is a big help. Going to openings, introducing yourself to people in the know, putting work up on social media… it’s exhausting but it helps. Search out a good workshop, something out of your comfort zone. You’ll meet interesting people who’ll give you a different vantage point. Work hard! Make work! Lots of it! Cull what’s bad! Keep going!

“Landscape — Beware the Ides of March” — Ann Saunderson

“City on Fire — Cataclysm” — Ann Saunderson

Update from Adrienne Sloane

As guest blogger last December, I wrote about my project The Unraveling:

"Sometimes what is happening on the larger political context spills just a bit too much into my consciousness and gets released in my art.  A new work of mine in this vein, The Unraveling, is a knit American flag that I am in the process of unraveling over time, reflecting my views on the current administration." As the flag unravels, it reveals the U.S. Constitution.

Now over 16 months into this administration, the Constitution behind the knit cotton flag is gradually becoming more visible. This work is on display at the New Bedford Art Museum now through September 20. It will then travel to a special four-person show titled Crossing Boundaries: Material as Message at Rockland Center for the Arts in West Nyack, from October 7 - November 25, 2018. 

Click here to view a video of an unraveling event at the Fuller Craft Museum on January 21. 

Adrienne Sloane is a fiber artist who lives and works in Massachusetts, but teaches and exhibits around the world. She first attended North Country Studio Workshops as an instructor, and has returned as a participant and as a volunteer on the Planning Committee. 

Memories from Handbuilding and Jewelry

Clay/Handbuilding with Syd Carpenter

Here's an example of Syd Carpenter's work, illustrating how she creates sculptural pieces representing landscapes and/or interiors.

And here are some of the things that class participants said about the workshop:

"I was challenged to adopt another way of developing work."

"This was a new way of working for me, and hearing Syd talk about how she takes available information and translates it into her work process was exciting."

What inspired or delighted you?

"The freedom to work intuitively and spontaneously...pushing my comfort zone in clay sculpture...working from the concept of a personal map and abstracting those concepts into 3D sculpture..."

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Rings 360 with Tim Lazure

"Tim simplified so many processes."

"I was delighted to learn a bit about metal chasing and was thrilled that Tim was able to give me some guidance about how to continue with that work at home."

"The interaction with the faculty and other (very creative) students was inspirational, as always."

"From rivets, to soldering, to tool making, he made it all seem accessible."

More Photos and Responses

Here are more memories from Bennington, January 2018. 

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Mixed Media with Susan Webster

"Susan intuited a direction that I need to take in my art and came up with an exercise that made me see the light!"

"I enjoyed my fellow participants and the level of their expertise. I have found one of the best features of NCSW is the participants as much as the teachers."

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"I explored a size I never worked in, and new techniques with tools I have used before."

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Drawing with Evan Crankshaw

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"Mind expanding, nurturing, yet progressive instruction. Good momentum each day."

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"Evan's exercises taught me to slow down as I draw sometimes, and to be strong and fierce at other times."

"I was delighted and surprised at the endless amount of support and insight and new ideas and solutions..."

"A wonderful, warm group of attendees who were really thoughtful about where Evan was trying to take us."

More to come...

Looking Back at January 2018: Sculpture with Sylvie Rosenthal

Power tools and hand tools, including the famous Holy Gallahad, were all put to use in shaping and carving three-dimensional wood forms. 

What the participants said they learned:

"Joinery, use of tools, practice, patience, sharpening techniques."

"Wood grain matters!"

"Be creative, use positive and negative space, light and shadow, texture, shape...Be playful. Plan but be flexible. Don't be afraid of mistakes..."

"Sylvie gave inspiring assignments in terms of conceptual depth, and she encouraged exploration in student work."

"I explored my own capacity to slow down, look, see, think. And I was constantly inspired by Sylvie and my classmates."

Political Stitchery -- Guest Blogger Adrienne Sloane

Sometimes what is happening on the larger political context spills just a bit too much into my consciousness and gets released in my art.  A new work of mine in this vein, The Unraveling, is a knit American flag that I am in the process of unraveling over time, reflecting my views on the current administration.  Revealing the Constitution as it comes undone, The Unraveling is now on view at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA through May 20.  For more on the exhibit, click here. 

Here's a detail of the piece, showing the U.S. Constitution as the flag unravels.

The Fuller Craft Museum has also been collecting examples from the pussy hat movement that contributed so much to the visuals of last year’s Women's March. Marking the one-year anniversary, Revolution in the Making: The Pussyhat Project opens on January 21, in conjunction with another fiber show, Threads of Resistance. As a part of the opening, the Museum plans to hold a Craftivism Roundtable Panel discussion on the role of needlework in affecting social change. Details here.  

In another very interesting project along similar political lines, I brought an old American flag with me on a teaching trip to Australia last March, when the American inauguration was still very much on everyone’s mind.  Inviting people to write their uncensored thoughts directly on the flag, offered me incredibly interesting opportunities to engage with how Australians felt about our election. I am now looking to expand my fiber vocabulary by embellishing the flag with free motion embroidery, which is why I signed up for Follow the Thread with Paula Kovarik in January.  I am so looking forward to the workshop.

Adrienne Sloane is a fiber artist who lives and works in Massachusetts, but teaches and exhibits around the world. She first attended North Country Studio Workshops as an instructor, and has returned as a participant and as a volunteer on the Planning Committee.