Missive re Nantucket Island School of Design & the Arts
I’m still basking in the glow of my week on Nantucket, tucked away in a massive studio barn with some NCECA peeps and a couple of new mug slinger friends. (National Council for the Education of Ceramic Arts – I’m on the volunteer working board of this organization through which this opportunity came about).
I used the time and space to play, and begin to bring concept to clay with the still life series I’m planning for the Montreal solo show this September. I had brought moulds to get out of the gate running, and little tubs of different possible inclusions to enhance the gritty surface textures I am going for. Serendipity prevailed, and the quality of the tile crushed pebbles/gravel in the sand on the beach at the end of the road need the studio proved to be the most conducive – stunning. I travelled with a small Rubbermaid container of this in my backpack, and twice had security do some extravagant fenagled test on it – apparently they were testing for explosives – but they were happy to let me have a piece of the island.
I have to admit that I also carried a small sampling of scallop shells home, hoping to make earrings for my friends. The abundance of these shells on the beach is immeasurable. Drinking in the fresh Atlantic Sea air brought me right back to summers in my youth at Kouchibouguac, New Brunswick. Tracing a collage of sandprints on the beach with my tai chi remains a favourite privilege and joy.
We had an outing to Long Point – bouncing along the beach in the back of a pick up truck, and tumbling out to explore the dunes that bourgeoned with wild rose and fluffy baby sea gulls. The ocean was azure blue and ice cold, but the seals were just as curious about us as we were of them, and they frolicked nearby, peering at us as if we were the main attraction. The excursion ended in an unexpected team building experience when we took the interior road back, and got seriously stuck in the sand. After digging ourselves and pushing and grunting for a while, uner the relentless hot sun – we sent two parties out in two different directions in search of help. Mitch and I eventually flagged down a friendly ranger who saved the day.
The crew of young residents were shy at first, but once we got them to strut their stuff, we felt like a team, and ended the week with twelve wheels spinning, 24 hands creating pots for the Empty Bowls charity.
Laura and Mitch are the summer resident couple who basically make things happen – Laura is the Director of Programming and Mitch makes things happen, along with his trusted furry buddy, Buddha. Mary Kuhn is the magic maker who envisioned and realized the arts centre oasis. We had artist talks, Pecha Kucha style and 15 or so community members came out, and we each had a piece in the small gallery. One community member, invited us to her home with her friends and we got to take in the charm, wit, beauty, and honestness and hospitality of the spirit of Nantucket.
A highlight for me was the Whalers’ Museum that I visited when we spent an afternoon wandering the city itself. The hydrangea are too beautiful for words, and the majority of the homes conform to a grey and white palette, mostly cedar shingles. I happened into a guided visual presentation of the history of not only the island, but the relationship between the Indigenous peoples, the W, and the settlers – it was the Wampanoag People who taught the white man to salvage and efficiently harvest the whales who washed up on the shore. It was the white man who got greedy and started to hunt the whales out of the water. Nantucket was one of the top five whaling ports in North America.
I would be remiss if I did not to mention the culinary expertise that abounded – chipotle, arepa, dosa, chole/channa, falafel, bibim bap – pretty much an unparalleled global cuisine!
I came away richer for the new and deeper friendships forged, with a fulsome sense of mutual sharing – sharing of ceramic technical and creative tips, sharing of critical feedback, and sharing of our lives. All of the members of the ad-hoc committee re Multicultural Fellows Exhibition Planning happened to be with me – and we engaged in much productive NCECA visioning.