Heidi McKenzie

Crating – Hindsight is 20/20

Heidi McKenzie — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:13:48 +0000

Family Portrait is the resurrection of my agate-ware piece with over 20 varying bands of clay epoxied onto the frame and each other of the sculpture – it’s a bit tricky to move and mount – and I had Charles in furniture build me a crate especially to transport the piece. Had I thought about this in advance, getting it through a regular door frame, I would have realized that having it made even an inch less in diameter would have worked. Hindsight really is 20/2o and you only have to learn your lesson once in this business. Opening – Thursday at 7pm, 990 Queen West.

Building In a Bowl

Heidi McKenzie — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:09:42 +0000

I’m back to using a container to shape the sculpture – but this time I’m building from the top down or up as the case may be. Making the bands in my 20″ bats and attaching each one separately two or three per day – drying slowly, using cone 6 porcelain. I’m slinging the bands over my should and coaxing them into place and setting them up with paper towels. I feel a bit like the chinese coil pot makers…The pressure is on to finish this prototype before I get booted out of Sheridan and loose access to the big kilns. I’m going to miss them. I really love this process, and believe it has a world of possibilities.

Susan Collett opens her studio to Sheridan grads

Heidi McKenzie — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 21:16:14 +0000

We started the week on Monday in Susan Collett’s studio. I have been a convert and a fan of Susan and her work for the past couple of years – and was completely blown away by her generosity of spirit in letting us into her life, sharing her trajectory as she moved from print maker to specialized custom ceramic tile designer/maker, to sculptor, metal worker, teacher, and how she seamlessly has juggled all of these different roles and blends them into her very full, successful and still growing career as one of Canada’s leading edge visual artists. This is what the ceramics community is all about – sharing and support and encouragement for the next generation. I only hope that I can give back to the community some day in a similar way.

Seeing Serra

Heidi McKenzie — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:17:48 +0000

At NCECA last week I ran out of the civilized group dinner on the wharf to catch the sculpture garden before the sun set – and got to meander through a Richard Serra sculpture all on my own – it was magical – and this man really knows his lines!!!! I dream about making something on this scale – one day, anything’s possible. If Greg Payce can render his work in bronze or alumina, who’s to say it’s not within the realm of possibilities?

CARPE DIEM

Heidi McKenzie — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:23:25 +0000

I gave my presentation today at NCECA in Seattle – in front of 300+ captivated crowd of artists, art educators and emerging artists. I was floored by the response and positive feedback. In a nutshell – GET OUT THERE!!!! you can learn to network and put yourself out there with passion and zeal and something’s going to happen. Due to popular demand, here are the tips in abbreviated form:

15 Tips to Kick-Start Your Career

Exploit Your Resources
Go Green – Re-Use, Re-Cycle, Re-Purpose
Buy a Lottery Ticket
Get Organized
Get Out There
Start One Person at a Time
Use the Foreign Advantage
You are the Centre of Your Universe
Know Yourself
Be a Joiner
Volunteer
Keep Your Options Open
Do the Hustle
Play To Your Strengths
Cultivate Your Contacts

Anima

admin — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:49:34 +0000

In the series Anima, bands of thrown and altered clay are coaxed into kinetic rhythms with attention to line and speed, density and fluidity, and the timelessness of the ephemeral. Each piece drives toward harmony or chaos, yearning for transcendence or resolution.

Maru

admin — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:50:37 +0000

The Maru series speakx to the complex dynamic of human interaction. The inter-linked rings fashion a weathered permanence that belies the fragility of their medium. The rings’ patinas hint at the trials and tribulations that are part of the transformative process of living, which is both collective and individual.

Woodworking the Spine

Heidi McKenzie — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:13:52 +0000

I have been grappling with getting my anima sculptures “up” and while re-working with “family portrait” the piece I had thrown for end of term in December for the OCC exhibition, I moved through planning to glaze it onto a kiln shelf, to glazing the first layer onto a ceramic octagonal platform, to attaching the piece to an octagonal old mirror frame I had kicking around in the basement. After trying three times to build a ceramic “spine” on which to attach the other bands, I realized I had to move to another more durable medium. I chose wood – I can work with wood and it’s readily available. John McCarthy in the wood shop helped me bind some basswood and I band-sawed an abstracted spine together and affixed it to my weather-stressed frame. I’ve been working with FIX-IT epoxy and Jim Hake gave me some expert tips on how to make a “sticky paste” adhesive for the epoxy with its solvent. Working away – whittled holes for a super durable hanger and hoping the piece will hold together…next stop – crating….

Jim Hake – a little help from my friend

Heidi McKenzie — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 02:46:11 +0000

Jim Hake is my neighbor and an incredibly gifts sculptor and teacher. He dropped by this afternoon and I had an impromptu crit – he gave me some very positive feedback and encouraged me to try wedging in frit with the agate-ware to give it a slight sheen instead of oil or shellac. We also talked about the challenges of “mounting” my work – and I’m still so undecided. He sketched out an idea off the top of my head – that I think I’m going to try, although I still can’t see it, and I’m stubborn when I can’t see something complete in my head. The most important thing Jim told me was that the art will stand on its own merit if I stay true to my concept and my vision – and avoid at all costs being swayed by the critiques and suggestions of other artists, instructors and peers at this time. Sounds like words to live by. Here’s Jim’s page with Lonsdale Gallery (he’s got a group show currently and a solo show in the fall).

The Artist Project – Inspiration and Friendly Faces

Heidi McKenzie — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 02:18:42 +0000

I spent the afternoon zig zagging my way around the Toronto Artist Project – and finding lots of friendly and familiar faces. It was very encouraging to find Sheridan alumni, and one of my influencers, Jason Holley – jolly and keen to talk to me about his process and inspiration for raku rings. I sat down and threw 10 rings this evening in my home studio – going to try and put something a little bigger together…We met this lovely and open glass artist, Catherine Hibbits, who has the niftiest coroplast plinths I’ve ever seen, and who ended up giving me tons of advice on residencies at Living Arts Centre and Harbourfront Centre. All in all – very inspiring to see what artists are up to – Alex Anagnostou, another arts manager turned artist also a shining light on the glass scene.