Playing with fire

​by Leti Wesolowski, blog contributor
 
Artist’s Reception, Friday, October 20, 5-8 pm
Show ends November 12th
 
“Playing with fire” is a joint show between Laura McCracken, Josie Quick, and Karen Simkiss opening October 20th at our Creekside Gallery. The three artists have created their own artwork using heat (or fire) as their main forming element.
 
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Artist Laura McCracken does fused glass and her unique artwork is created by cutting and layering glass over molds, then fusing them together by heat in a kiln. Different temperatures and several firings create a variety of textures and forms that Laura uses in her decorative mosaic wall panels, coral webs, and other kiln-formed glass pieces.
 
How did you get interested in glass and how long have you been doing it?
I taught elementary art for 20 years (17 at Manitou Springs Elementary). I have been showing and selling my art since 1999. It has always been important to me to be a working and showing artist, as a positive example to my students. I have been working in glass since 2008.
 
What does making art mean to you?
Art is my solace. I work through trying times by working within the comfort of my studio. The studio is where I find quiet, away from the busyness and noise of the world. I find joy in trying new techniques and developing my knowledge in the medium of glass.
 
What has inspired you for this show?
For me, "Playing with Fire" is a celebration and triumph over setback. After overcoming injury, I cherish the simple things in life. I have rebuilt my life around my art-making.
 
Tell us about your fused glass process and the steps you take to achieve one of your works.
Fused glass is a process that involves cutting glass cold, layering, and heating in a kiln. Various heat levels produce differing results. I find comfort in the repetition of glass cutting. I move from thoughts grounded in reality to a daydream when working. This is a moving meditation of sorts, my creative flow.

What emotions or reactions do you want to cause on the public looking at your artwork?
I enjoy watching people move closer in to inspect my artwork; to look at how it's made or displayed. I feel that glass holds energy. It has a presence that is visually seductive.
 What is your favorite piece for sale at this event? And why?
​The series: "While Away..." is a trio that represents my recovery from injury and getting back into the activities that bring me joy. Picture attached: "Along the Path"

"Along the Path", fused glass work by Laura McCracken

"Rise Set" by Laura McCracken

Camouflage Bowls by Laura McCracken

Where can people find more of your work?
 www.lauramccrackenglass.com
www.etsy.com/market/GlassMarvel
www.facebook.com/LauraMcCrackenGlassArt
​www.instagram.com/lauramccrackenglass
 Laura is currently a member artist at The Bridge Gallery, Colorado Springs, and 40 West, Lakewood. More of her artwork can be seen displayed at Pure Colorado Event Center, Lakewood and at the Holiday show of the Center for the Arts in Evergreen, CO.



 
Josie Quick is not only a professional violin player but a skilled ceramic artist creating signature Zen pots inspired by primitive art.
 
Josie: tell us about yourself and your artistic career. How long have you been doing ceramics?
I have been interested in art my entire life. I would always rather draw than do my schoolwork. I would dig the clay out of the irrigation ditch and make pots. I was torn between a career as a graphic designer or musician, and I chose music. I am professional violinist, I teach, freelance, and perform with my jazz ensemble, Perpetual Motion. I am also working on a CD project with another band, The Coyote Poets of the Universe. I think what drew me to throwing clay is the rhythm of it. I can hear the music of it in my head, they align for me. I don’t like to listen to music while I work, I’d rather listen to what’s in my head. I’ve been working with clay for close to 25 years, and making my “zen pots” for around 20.
 
What has inspired you for this show?
I call my work “zen pots” because creating them is meditative, I enter a state of zen when working on them. One needs to be centered in order to center the clay. If I am scattered, not present in the moment, not mindful, I can’t center the clay. So the act of centering puts me in that meditative state, and I carry it through when doing the hand building portion. The designs have no plan, they are created in the moment. It’s a way of practicing mindfulness.

"Cosmos" by Josie Quick

"Zen of the Elephant" by Josie Quick

What does making art mean to you?
I often create my designs as a way of working through something, very often it’s grief. Many of my stamps represent people or events to me, and when I am missing my parents I make a pot in their memory. The hand building is my therapy.
 
Walk us through the steps of your flowing creativity to achieve one of your “Zen pots”.
There are many aspects of making (them) that I love. One is the combination of throwing and hand building, I start them by throwing a mold on the wheel, paying particular attention to the shape of the inside of the pot. This is tricky, and has taken me a long time to refine the shape. Most pottery tools are designed for shaping the outside, and I’ve made a few of my own tools specifically for shaping the inside. After the mold has dried to the leather hard stage I roll out slabs of clay and use my handmade stamps to make impressions. My stamps are all of my own design, usually of animals but I have a few flowers and leaves. I use stylized images, like what might be found in primitive art. I place the slabs inside the mold, and fill in the spaces in between with coils, creating geometric designs. After I have finished filling in all the spaces I peel the mold off, leaving the hand built pot. This part is fun, it’s like discovering an archaeological dig. Then I throw the top portion and attach it. I use classic vase shapes. I enjoy the juxtaposition of thrown and hand built, classical and primitive, refined and rough.

Josie Quick handbuilding pottery

Josie Quick decorating pottery

What intentions or emotions do you want to express in your artwork for this show?
I am always on the lookout for inspiration, in art and in music. I love primitive art, and look for designs in African and South American cultures for ideas. I look for geometric patters and ideas and stamp ideas everywhere. My work for this show has been an extension of finding new patterns to use, new stamps to make, and refining the blending of classic forms and the primitive look of the slab and coil work.

I also like to branch out and try new things from time to time. There are a few pieces that are not zen pots, sometimes I need to do something else and come back. Keeps me engaged.

​
 What is your favorite piece for sale at this event? And why?
​It’s so very hard to choose favorite pot. They all have an emotional connection for me. This blue turtle pot has been in my living room for a while, so I can enjoy it before parting with it. I was a leap forward for me in terms of a refined shape, and I love the color.

"Honu" by Josie Quick

Where can we find your work: website, social media, local stores.
My Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/PotteryByJosie and my website is www.josiequick.com



 
Karen Simkiss is a retired art teacher who has taught many different subjects such as photography, print-making, drawing and painting. Currently she is focusing in encaustics, a process that consists of painting with wax, pigment and heat.


Karen, tell us a little bit about yourself and your artistic career.
​As a young child I had a neighbor who was a professional artist. I have many memories of sitting watching him work. I felt his talent was magic and I wanted to be able to draw like Joey. Saturday mornings was always a problem…I would get up to watch John Nagy “Learn to Draw” and my brother and sisters wanted to watch cartoons. I cannot remember a time I did not want to be an artist. My dad started me in private lessons in 3rd grade and it went on from there. I attended El Camino College, California College of Arts and Crafts, and California State College at Dominguez Hills. We moved to Colorado in 1978, I raised two boys and finally graduated from UCCS. I have taught private lessons for 40 years. I have also taught at Bemis School of Art, UCCS and for the last 14 years at St. Mary’s High School. As I was the only art teacher at St. Mary’s I taught everything and my own work reflects that. I am currently working in Encaustic. I incorporate painting, collage and drawing in most of my current work. Printmaking, handmade paper and photography also work their way in to many of my pieces.

What does making art mean to you?
I retired this year and someone asked me if I was also going to retire from art? I cannot imagine what life would be like without art. As I always try to teach my students that art is a way of seeing and a way of living. It isn’t always about the finished product. It is more about the process of looking at life and being so awed by everything around you, you have to respond in some way.
 
What has inspired you for this show?
The work for this show is primarily inspiration from my life here in Colorado. I live in the mountains and spend much of my time outside working in my garden or hiking. The work in this show is reflective of the concept that nothing is simple and there are always layers to every story. I am trying not to focus so much on details but on the layers and colors that build the story. While I am not working in a new technique or theme, I try to make each piece an experiment with the medium. My latest challenge is adding drawing to different layers of the painting.

"Glads", encaustic art by Karen Simkiss

"Parakeets and Love" by Karen Simkiss

Walk us through the steps to achieve one of your encaustic works.
I fell in love with encaustic when I saw the work in a show. It is so rewarding to work with. You need to be a “process person” to enjoy the medium because it does take a lot of work and patience. Encaustic paint is a beeswax based medium. You heat together the wax and resin to make the basic medium. Then you add pigment to create your color pallet. I have 2 large hot plates on which I keep my waxes hot while painting. No matter how quick you move, the waxes start to cool as you apply it and leaves you with a lumpy surface. This is where the magic happens. I use a heat gun or a torch to reheat the wax and let it settle and bond with the other layers of wax. Depending on how close you hold the heat to the surface you can control the movement of the wax. In many cases you do not want the wax to actually move so you place the heat farther from the surface to slowly bond the layers together. One painting may have anywhere from four to ten layers of wax. The transparency of the wax allows the under paintings to show through. After the wax has completely cooled I polish the surface to a glass like finish.

"Sun Dazzled" by Karen Simkiss

"Golden Waves of Grain" by Karen Simkiss

What intentions or emotions do you want to express in your artwork?
The encaustic medium is so beautiful to look at. I try to create work that you cannot just walk past. The surface draws you into the work and then you notice all the layers that underlie that surface.
 
What is your favorite piece for sale at this event and why?
For this show all my pieces were started with a map. My favorite piece in this show is “Parakeets and Love”. I started with a map and then waxed down my photo of two parakeets as a starting point. The Dalia is the flower of love and was painted in many layers with dried grasses over the basic collage. The depth of the wax and the collaged pieces created different surfaces and I believe adds interest to the piece.
 
 
 
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