Harlequin in a Tutu
JoAnne Russo
Photo: Jeff Baird

It’s time to challenge the preconceptions of what art can and should be.

Recently, JoAnne Russo’s new basket (pictured at left) arrived in The Guild’s offices for a photo shoot. This diminutive piece of work, made with pine needles and fish vertebrae, had a power that held me transfixed for many moments. I slowly realized that the magic of the talented artist was to be able to reach beyond the physical nature of her basic materials, to create an object that transcends its own ordinariness and becomes something far more profound.

The traditional art establishment is rather disdainful of anything that could be considered “craft.” Why is that? Is it because glass or ceramic objects are considered less intellectual, more emotional? It is true that Marcel Duchamps’ famous toilet piece appeals primarily to the intellect. Russo’s basket, on the other hand, appeals to the spirit.

The objects of Russo and many other craft artists are powerful, evocative, beautiful, and therefore embody the highest aesthetic achievements of fine art.

After the Race
Jeri Hollister

In a sense, all art addresses the issue of how the artist and the audience see. This is even more so when the art is made of that most humble of elements – earth – because the process of creation also becomes part of the viewer’s experience.

Clay has no form of its own, but its polymorphous nature offers unlimited prospects for the contemporary artist to make a personal statement. Attracted by clay’s malleability and mutability, a growing number of artists are exploiting its sculptural potential.

For Jeri Hollister, the horse is a personal symbol. Each one of her limited edition sculptures project strength, honesty, courage. Her works embody the evidence of the ceramic process, but go beyond technique to provide a powerful sculptural image. It is Hollister’s resolution of form, calling upon years of developing the necessary skills, that allows her to naturally assume the title of sculptor.

Animal Foam Prints
The Town School Fourth Grade
Photo: Cynthia Davies

Cynthia Davies, my friend and former colleague, is the art teacher at The Town School, an elementary school on the upper east side of Manhattan. Recently, she sent me the annual calendar that the school publishes, featuring the artwork of students at the school.

Looking through the pages of this wonderful little publication, I am struck with the exuberance of ceramic pieces by second graders, and the joyous colors in the animal prints by the fourth graders. These children display such a wonder and passion for life in their artwork.

My wish for all of us is that we teach our children, as my friend Cynthia does, the creative habit of expressing ourselves. If we learn this habit early on, perhaps we might continue to use it throughout our lives, and in the process create a happier and more beautiful world.