curiosity Archives - Pinky & Maurice

December 2, 2016 by Claire Atkins 6 Comments

Call me an Amateur!

The American painter Chuck Close, said, ‘inspiration is for amateurs’.

Famously, he’s never had artist’s block, because he simply trusts in the creative process. His advice for artists is to show up and start, and see where the process leads you.

We should draw comfort from this, we don’t need to feel inspired, or be in the mood to create. Art making is not a sacred activity, in fact every mark we make is a departure point, and every face, object, thought, or dream is ripe subject matter.

For example, right now, I’m not feeling particularly moved, but I’m writing anyway in the tiny pea-green kitchen of my clapped-out caravan. The chip-board table has a crook leg and it’s limping on every word. The valley is shrill with cicadas feeding off their own drama, and as if on cue, the westerly sounds along the ridge and a spotted gum drops its crown to the forest floor with a great crack like polar ice breaking. Yet I feel strangely cocooned in here, like a passenger in John Brack’s car. The van windows have sliced the yellowing hillsides into safe cigar-box paintings and stuck them to the ply as if they’re prints from the Heidelberg School. The western sky is rolling darkly on itself, teasing. Summer has arrived, and there’s just enough water in the spring to flush the dunny one more time…

There’s enough material right here on either side of these fraying insect screens for something…I’m not sure what, but I agree with Chuck Close, we don’t need to summon the muse before we start making, and we don’t need to travel far to find our subjects. Like Miro’s line going for a walk, pick up your pencil, tap your keys, and see where it takes you.

However, like the spring on our property, an artist’s reserves can run dry. I find the words of Australian artist and author, Shaun Tan, encouraging on this. And while he doesn’t like to use the word inspiration particularly, he does suggest that we must live a life that’s open to inspiration and experiences in order to create.

inspiration_dunny_door_hidden_valley_pinky_and_maurice

Our dunny door

In his book ‘The Bird King : An Artist’s Notebook’, Tan talks about the cultivation of creativity like a gardener. He sees the artist as a tree that must draw from a rich compost of experience ‘- things seen, read, told, and dreamt – in order to grow leaves, flowers, and fruit. Art, following the laws of horticulture, can only make something out of something else; artists do not create, so much as transform…’

Tan says, ‘artists need to work hard to make sure their creative soil is well tilled and fertilised. They need to look outward and actively accumulate a swag of influences to bring along with them when taking that line for a walk…’

This has been my year of travel. I don’t say that to brag, I’m not well travelled by any stretch, but transformative experiences happened, and new opportunities came about because I left the safety of what I already knew. The potters I met this year in the poorest neighbourhoods in India, over a wedging table in Bali, and in the villages and vibrant cities of China, all revealed to me new ways of seeing, and those experiences are informing my work in the most wonderful and surprising ways.

We don’t need to wait for inspiration. Inspiration is calling us to come and play, it’s courting us constantly. We just need to say, yes.

In her ‘Conversations‘, American poet Maya Angelou says, ‘Life loves the liver of it. You must live, and life will be good to you, and give you experiences.’

BOOM! I love that. You’ll sure as hell eat some shit sandwiches along the way, heck, you’ll even make some for yourself, but Angelou is spot on. ‘Life loves the liver of it.’ Amen, sister!

Next year, I’m pushing out into the deep, and I want you to join me.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be talking on the blog about plans that are brewing for making big clay magic with you in 2017.

Call me an amateur, but I hope you’ll step outside the caravan with me and fill your spring.

It’s gonna be inspiring, it’s gonna be transformative, it’s gonna involve passports, it’s gonna be JUST FOR WOMEN, and if anything potters – like a Summer storm – it’s gonna be BIG!

Stay tuned, or sign up to the newsletter here and be the first to hear all the juicy details.

xClaire aka Pinky & Maurice

March 1, 2016 by Claire Atkins 12 Comments

Forget passion, follow your curiosity – Conjuring Big Magic & Exploding Chickens

Last year, I was listening to Richard Fidler and author Elizabeth Gilbert on the Conversation Hour, and my ears pricked up because of how she spoke about the nature of creativity, and in particular she talked about the cultivation of curiosity rather than preach a sermon on following your dreams.

Learning to crochet granny-squares, sparked an obsession crocheting sculptures in fishing line and plastics. ‘Hatch’ by Claire Atkins

Like Gilbert, I’m not a big fan of preaching on passion, not because I’m not passionate, but because I can’t pin myself down to following just one. For years I had seen this as some kind of creative fault; I’ve never neatly fit into a box that could be named. In fact, my alter-ego Pinky & Maurice, came about precisely to give my growing obsession with clay a name. It was clear after a time I had spent away from clay – directing festivals, raising small children, and crocheting plastic fishing line – that an alter-ego obsessed with making porcelain tableware was emerging, and I wasn’t sure what to do with her at the time.

An interest in porcelain could become a full blown enquiry

‘We become what we do’. This quote is attributed to everyone from Aristotle to motivational speakers; whoever said it, I don’t find it very helpful. For example, I run. I like to run at least 8 kilometres everyday, but that doesn’t necessarily make me a runner! I don’t want to be a runner, I just like to run. ‘Life isn’t a career’, Jane Campion recently said, and I find that much more helpful.

Pottering around with timber in the shed

I love pots, and I make them most days, but I’ve also been known to become completely sidetracked and engrossed by making stuff not only in other materials, but also in entirely new fields. I’m not alone in this. Following your curiosity can open up new creative possibilities and lead you into collaborating with other curious and inspiring makers.

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Kid’s author Tristan Bancks in my studio directing the trailer for his book ‘ My Life & Other Exploding Chickens ‘. Cross-fertilise with other artists and in new media. It’s an INSPO BOMB!

For instance, some days I’ve found myself being a film producer, or an actor playing an evil nurse, or being the Art Department on a short film making exploding chickens with rubber gloves! Sounds strangely fun, yes? You can see the results in the silly Youtube below!

An exploding chickens creative genius! Who would have thunk it?

Life isn’t a career, and as Gilbert shares on The Conversation Hour, if we’re open to curiosity, life looks more like a scavenger hunt where we follow a series of clues that spark our interest. These clues might lead to new ideas, they might even propel us toward a passion that we never knew existed. On the other hand, curiosity might take us nowhere, and we may have nothing to show for all our efforts except exploded bits of rubber glove and chicken feathers! However, for Gilbert, devotion to inquisitiveness is a worthwhile pursuit in itself. I tend to agree, and more often than not it’s strangely fun, usually because it feels more like play than work.

You can be curious anywhere

If you’re curious about curiosity, even just a little bit, and you’re open to embarking on your own creative adventures, I recommend you listen to Richard Fidler and Elizabeth Gilbert’s conversation here, or read her latest book ‘Big Magic : Creative Living Beyond Fear‘. Who knows, there could be an evil nurse waiting inside you just busting to get out! Or maybe you’ll discover that you like making pots even though you’re a film Producer … and vice versa. 😉

You can see me as Evil Head Nurse ‘Miriam Gooch’ in the silly Youtube below. It features a wonderful cast of hilarious older folks reliving their fictional mate’s escape attempt from a nursing home! All performances are improvised, none of us actors, but all keen for creative adventure.

October 6, 2015 by Claire Atkins Leave a Comment

Spice Up Your Art Life!

In May 2016, I’m leading a group to be part of an inspiring workshop ‘Food Meets Plate’, at Gaya Ceramic Arts Centre in Ubud, Bali.

Hosted by American potter Hillary Kane, it will be a South East Asian odyssey for clay lovers and food enthusiasts, that is set to enliven your senses and spice up your creative practice!

If you’re just tuning in, catch up on my conversations with our workshop host Hillary Kane, here, and with Bruce McWhinney, Australian potter and the creator of our inspiring Ubud accommodation here.

Today I caught up with ceramic artist Vicki Grima, who has attended three workshops at Gaya!

Vicki Grima is a tour-de force, and for the last ten years she has managed to squeeze her ceramics practice between demanding positions as Editor of The Journal of Australian Ceramics and Executive Officer of The Australian Ceramics Association.

In these roles she shines a bright spotlight on the diversity of contemporary Australian ceramics and shares it with a global audience daily. She says however, the occasions are rare when she can spend time in her peaceful Sydney studio, so you can imagine, that going on retreat and filling up the creative well is an important part of Vicki’s calendar.

‘…my times in Bali have been an indulgence in what I love most – to sit with a ball of clay ; no rush, no pressure, just me and the clay…’ Vicki Grima

Claire Atkins: Thank you for joining me here Vicki!

Recently I’ve been speaking with artists on the blog about the workshop ‘Food Meets Plate’ at Gaya Ceramic Arts Centre, and for each artist, travel impacts in various ways on their creativity. In what ways does travel affect you creatively?

Vicki Grima: Travel brings new colours, textures, smells and tastes into my world… an abrupt disruption to my normal day-to-day pattern. I love visiting new places and seeing how lives are lived on a daily basis – how people shop, cook, and move in their landscape. Architecture too is a fascination for me.

‘The workshops at Gaya are about exploring the unknown, being creative and learning new skills…’ Vicki Grima

You have been to three workshops at Gaya! What is it that keeps calling you back?

My first visit to Bali and Gaya Ceramic Art Centre came through an invitation from Gaya CAC for me to gather a group of potters together. I had never been to Bali, so it was a perfect opportunity for me personally to explore a new place.

I recall choosing the ‘Culinary Clay’ workshop as I thought there could be no better way to immerse myself in Bali than to explore two of my passions – clay and food – in this place I had heard so much about.

Between visiting the local food markets at dawn, to joining local families in their home kitchens, and tasting food that was cooked using a wide array of spices and herbs new to us, we also made pots inspired by the fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices.

It was a vibrant, diverse and exciting experience, so much so that I have returned twice more. My second and third trips were to explore woodfiring, another of Gaya CAC’s creative offerings.

My own ceramics practice of making small pinch pots has been enhanced by workshops at Gaya. It allowed me to use different clay bodies and fire with local timbers in an anagama kiln, whilst also being inspired by the multitude of rich patterns and textures in the surrounding landscape.

I have a busy job as editor of The Journal of Australian Ceramics, and it means my studio practice has suffered, so my times in Bali have been an indulgence in what I love most – to sit with a ball of clay; no rush, no pressure, just me and the clay. The people, the food, the culture and the landscapes are unique and I love it.

Gaya’s May 2016 workshop, ‘Food Meets Plate’ focuses on the relationship between food and handmade ceramics. ‘Culinary Clay’ shared a similar focus, from that experience, who do you think would suit this workshop?

The workshop is suited to those with a passion for food and clay, together with an inquisitiveness to explore the connections between the two.

The knowledgeable team at Gaya cater for all levels of ceramics experience from beginners to more advanced in a gorgeous handbuilt workshop space. With a local cook preparing the daily lunches the immersion in clay and food is complete in every sense. Workshops are about exploring the unknown, being creative and learning new skills.

That is all possible at Gaya.

‘The workshop is suited to those with a passion for food and clay, together with an inquisitiveness to explore the connections between the two…’ Vicki Grima

Curious? Inspired? I am! There are still places available in this workshop, and I would love you to join me!

Click the link and head over to the workshop page now for full details and exclusive Early Bird specials when you book through me.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for next week’s delicious blog offering!