Leonie Barel's Ceramic Art

HELP NEEDED - Invasion of the Egrets

2010-05-26T21:52:00.001+03:00

Little did I know when I sculpted these bird-women last year that they would come to be a reflection of things to come; invasion of these disgusting Egrets/Herons was just a season away...
Pardes Hanna, specifically the area known as the Wadi, has been taken over by a huge flock of these messy, nesting, noisy, smelly birds, which have moved into the pine trees just a stone throw from my life. Unfortunately, throwing stones at them endangers the passers by between my terrace and the trees and its a risk I am on the verge of taking!
The local authorities are at a loss as to how to solve this health hazard and environmental affliction, though from my research I know that cutting off the tree tops is a viable solution. Meantime passers by, parked cars me and everyone around the building I am in, are dealing with a mass of messy smelly droppings and I am about to go shopping for an air gun or a chain saw.
Someone told me that they are a birdwatchers delight, right in the center of town. As photogenic as they might be, they are bringing my blood to boiling point and I am begging

for help to get rid of them. I know, there are helium balloons, ultrasonic sirens, nets, been to that website, read it and heard that these are ineffective.There is evidently no national organization that will deal with it - ANY IDEAS ANYONE????

The old adages

2010-04-29T23:18:00.001+03:00

You know me, I am not a great lover of cliches and old adages. Quote one and there is bound to be another that says the opposite. But the older I get.... and I am NOT saying I feel old, the more often one will crop up that fits the moment.

"To teach is to learn twice." - Joseph Joubert for example, comes up for me in art classes often. A great method of coil construction I taught and learned at the same time had me making pottery ( two bowls) and loving it after years of clay sculpture and NO utensils. (no photos yet). And the refresher classes I gave on how to sculpt a face had me learning all over again too! Its pretty amazing how explaining something can become a new way of seeing. I learn so much, gain all these little and huge insights in every class and from everyone who comes to work in my studio with me.
Oh, then there is that counter adage that says Those who cant, teach. No idea who came up with that one, but wonder if it was anyone who has ever taught?

Thanks all of you who teach me so much when you come to learn!

This is one of my teach by example heads.

Can't Hurry Love

2010-02-28T22:27:00.008+02:00

Twice a year for a couple of months there is nothing but the studio in my life. Covered in clay all the time, I keep coming up with just one more thing I want to do ( and dry and fire !) before the Open Studio date. Then comes the deadline of no more pieces...because they just wont dry in time.

I have reached that point but ideas are still flowing and the call of the clay is too strong to resist. Once again I am faced with the inevitable truth that you cant rush clay anymore than you can hurry love. Which doesn't mean we dont try ...

But in fact, its the clay that makes the decisions for me mostly, deciding when and what it wants to become; many of the pieces just got bigger and different.

I am looking forward to hearing your input.

This is an invitation.

When is done? Mixed media - 3 and 2 D.

2010-02-15T18:30:00.006+02:00

This sculpture is called 'profile of a reluctant warrior'.
After sculpting, firing, underglazing, refiring, attaching copper and bolts and screws, I still needed to photograph and filter the photo to get the feel I wanted of distant,historic, but actual- through mixed media - clay / metal / photo
When is the piece done? And is the photo actually a separate piece ?

Belonging

2010-02-11T22:13:00.004+02:00

Everybody belongs. To someone, something, somewhere. We think of ourselves as free individuals but we have our comfort zone. Home. And most of us have a favourite chair. A "my seat".
I have a great tv armchair with an elevating foot support that has hardly ever been in front of a tv. Its my meditation station, my reading post, my knitting, chatting, coffee, staring into nothing chair. I also have a particular way of sitting in it. Its true the chair dictates it. I started thinking about how people buy and choose a chair. How they sit on them. When they sit that way. How they belong to a chair. Here are a few of the results. You are welcome to send me some pictures of how you sit in your chair.
Take a look at this link - Shani in the Knoll chairs. (dontsmilenow.com )
Who wouldnt want to belong to a Knoll chair?

The news

2009-11-19T11:56:00.007+02:00

Why do I have piles of newspapers again? What enticed me to subscribe to Ha'aretz and have newspaper/coffee in the morning? There it is at my gate on the second floor - does the delivery man wish I forgot my stair light so he could leave it in the box downstairs? Almost first thing in the a.m. I bring in the paper, save the long slim plastic bags to protect the planet and find something to make with them, and sit down with the paper and coffee. I skim my way through the pages and think what a good citizen I could be if I were involved enough to make a difference ( yea, how aside from cursing quietly as I read?) . Coffee and browse over, the paper gets dumped in the pile behind the sofa (somewhere underneath there is a pretty wrought iron newspaper holder crushed by the weight) to be recycled as papier mache maybe, or when I can carry the heavy load downstairs. Then thanks to this interlude I weave through the day with the residue of unease but hardly a memory of details.

Back and Forth

2009-10-18T12:25:00.008+02:00

Another medium is creeping into my life. Going back and forth between clay and canvas is strangely stickier than I would have thought. I haven't yet found the method of parallel work in both 2 and 3 dimensions.
Its a different gut feeling - well of course its a different language. As part of the learning and discovery process - I am finding out where clay and canvas fit into different moods and modes of self expression.Its a bit like translating or writing in two languages with very different cultures.

Is this in MY studio?

2009-09-24T20:40:00.006+03:00

Barter is a wonderful way to open up possibilities and enrich one's life. Exchanging sculpture classes for painting classes with Nira Ben-Hur is giving me an opportunity to see what I can do with two dimensions with someone who knows me, knows how to teach and is an artist who's work I have always wished to hang where I can see it all the time.
Its so great to have a studio where I can freely go between clay and paint. Such different kinds of mess! Such different kinds of approach and possibilities. Eventually I hope to find a way to combine the two more than I have done.
But for now, experimenting with brushes, rags and fingers is very rewarding. And oh well yes, lots more clean up.

Living la vida pasa(da)

2009-09-15T13:08:00.001+03:00

The excitement and intensity of preparing for the pre holiday fetes, fairs and shows has subsided. The "loca" is gone for the moment. The ebb and flow, up and down can lull me into a false sense of relaxation during the quieter periods.
Time passes though there is a constant pull of the tide to get things done - I function so much more creatively and energetically with a deadline. Its hard to stay driven all the time.
This small town lets me live the time passing. Taking the days as they unfold.
It seems that I have ditched my tent and my gypsy ways and am settling down in my house of bricks.

The joy of being undersood

2009-09-13T10:48:00.008+03:00

The Open Studio weekend is over leaving this satisfying feeling ringing in my loft/lounge/gallery : people do get me !!!!
Its one thing communicating verbally and being understood - its quite another when someone actually wants to own my art. The intuitive, controversial pieces - the ones that visually voice my soul, people got them and purchased them.
Validation!
These are an example.
Thank you all who visited, enjoyed and shopped!

Ever love a dress?

2009-09-10T17:06:00.004+03:00

e

Did you ever have the perfect dress as a little girl? Wedding dress? Ball gown? Party dress?
I often see dresses I would love to own, so sculpting them in clay is a lot of fun.
Still love designing too, but its more fun in clay than making a pattern and sewing it up!!! Sometimes I hang them on the wall as in the wedding dresses and other clothes on my website, now I have started letting them stand alone.

I was thinking, there might be others who would like to have a sculpture of their wedding dress for example?

Come one, Come ALL :Open Studio Friday 11th and 12th

2009-09-05T20:06:00.007+03:00

This coming weekend you are all invited to come and see the artists of Pardes Hanna opening their studios - and do start with me. You can get the brochure from me or look at the website of Omanim Bamoshava in advance.I am #35 under sculpture.
( Ha Oranim 2 Pardes Hanna)
I have been working on lots of projects over the past few months and the results are a very diverse collection. I have had so much fun!!! Some are at the exhibition *
but a LOT is here for you to see at the Open Studio.

*The mask exhibition opened with a bang at Gan Shmuel gallery and will continue through September-if you missed the opening, thats ok, still got a few weeks to see it

Putting on a face

2009-08-20T09:26:00.005+03:00

I am totally enchanted with masks in clay. Preparing masks for the exhibition uncovered more thought about layers of consciousness, identity questions, social habits and lots more. Art as therapy? No, but questions do surface.
Covering up, putting on a front, disclosing some but not all - how aware are we of the masks we use ?
A tray of masks - during my work process:
to keep at the door, along with your car keys or in your drawer ? So choose what you want to wear today.
The Masks exhibition is opening on the 4th of September at the Gan Shmuel Gallery, curated by Dorit Talmon.

One thing leads to another

2009-07-28T09:57:00.007+03:00

Teaching has the wonderful reciprocity factor, where your students give back as much as they get.

My students inspire and challenge me through their own wish to learn. My goal is to keep them daring to create their visual fantasies, by giving them my support to find ways to realize them.

The very small wedding dress collection started when I was demonstrating how to make clay look like folded fabric. I made a sample and the other wedding dresses followed .

Never too late - a work of growth in progress.

2009-07-12T12:41:00.008+03:00

Being responsible to others, taking work seriously, committing and meeting deadlines - these are easier for me than taking responsibility for myself.
Were I my friend, my boss, or my student for example, I would be taking far better care than I do of just me. I am not unique in this, I know.
My finances, my food, my exercise and my paperwork - ugh what an irresponsible person takes care of these. As though waiting for someone else to manage them better for me, to take over.

The outcome of years of living in defense mode,living up to expectations and trying to appease the 'everyone' God instead of staking a claim on who I can be, are not going to be resolved completely.

But its never too late to become the person you want to be.

In some areas I am already on my way. In others - I am hereby committing to MYSELF as my friend, my boss, my student and my reliable one and only self - to do unto myelf as I would unto others.

Been away and come back

2009-07-07T13:47:00.006+03:00

Yes, I have been away.

Not just in another country, but in another life.
A break from my studio, my home, my clay, my students, my family and my friends in Israel. Three weeks in LA with my American Branch. You can see them on Shani's website too.
It was a relaxing, loving and fun break.
Now I am back and well.... kind of awake.

I have set up a small gallery just outside my studio; you are welcome to pop in and take a look, have a cup of coffee (COLD) Monday and Wednesday mornings, On other days just call first .
Classes are ongoing and lots of new things are happening in them, some of which you can already see on my website in the Class gallery
If you would like to join a class or try out some of your own ideas, just give me a call.
I am starting work on new pieces and new ideas for the September " Artists of the Moshava" around Rosh Hashana and I am planning to be working in the studio a lot this summer.
Welcome!

Balls continued - The Abacus

2009-05-31T18:09:00.008+03:00

This abacus is a pretty, non-functional one. I never learned to use them. Only once did I see it being used: a restaurant owner ( in Greece perhaps?) adding up the day's takings, using an abacus and not a calculator. Their order and dependability are engaging.
Like the abacus, so many things from our past have become irrelevant and non functional. We look back with nostalgia and smile and shrug. Most of them have been replaced by faster/more efficient/better items. .
What concerns me is that soon democracy, the idea of equal rights ( some have never had it anyhow) and freedom of speech - will be as irrelevant and as useless as my ceramic abacus.
Broken.
Unlike the abacus, we will not be looking back with a smile of nostalgia. We are already weeping at the loss.
What is replacing these is not only broken and non functional at the outset, but unbearable to those of us who found equality, freedom of speech and well, some form of democracy - irreplaceable basic necessities.What is replacing these is arbitrary,totalitarian and racist and it is happening as we silently watch or chatter among ourselves at how horrible it is .
I wonder how many out there would like to stop this downhill (legislation and government ) undermining of hope for peace and equality and how we can find a way to do so before its really too late?

I got my cottle boards-thanks to Judy and Baruch

2009-05-27T23:26:00.007+03:00

I have been ready to make plaster molds for a while now but without the simple but effective cottle boards it just wasn't going to happen.
Even with the boards and the c clamps,working with plaster is really messy and can't be done when working with clay. This means cleaning up completely before going back to sculpture. Its horrible on the hands and can't be disposed of down a drain and in short, what on earth am I doing it for? What a mess!
But remember paper clay and that mess? I am totally enthralled by techniques I haven't tried and making molds has not been in my repertoire . How can I resist trying something messy? How can I resist finding ways to improve???

Its FUN. The magic of modeling a piece in clay then making a plaster mold out of it just to repeat the piece again in clay -(nuts) its fun! Its surprisingly unsurprising to see a copy of the piece I threw away after making the mold; for some reason it is immensely, strangely satisfying.
Did I mention it is messy?

Although I have good hand cream, maybe next time I will remember to use GLOVES and try and remember to keep my hands out of my eyes !

Being Inspired is a State of Mind

2009-05-25T23:25:00.007+03:00

There is a very addictive computer game I used to play, simply called Balls. Part of the fascination were the graphics and the sound. Recently I discovered that playing the game was what was causing pain in my Mouse Hand,( the one I used to call the Right Hand) and as a sculptor and clay art teacher I panicked when I realized my hand was cramping, making it hard to work.
As I parted from the game I was struck by the idea that there were other ways to enjoy graphic ball shapes . A hundred clay balls later ( after the excercise of rolling the balls, painting each one differently, putting them onto nichrome wire to fire the glazed beads) .....I am almost ready to go back to the computer game!
Not, however, before realizing that inspiration can turn up in any context.All you want to be is obsessively connecting everything back to your creativity....
Doodling has now become part of the surface painting of my work ( for the moment). Writing on sculptures is a way of integrating my two loves - art and language but it arose from an inspired moment when I realized that I can use language as a visual part of an image as well as layering meaning.
Inspiration for marketing the results is what I need to find now! Well. Inspiration is a state of mind, isn't it?

Learning how to blog and a bride's girls' day out

2009-05-12T16:03:00.007+03:00

Starting a blog isn't difficult. Writing about things you are interested in isn't all that hard.
But who reads what we write? How do we find people who are interested in what we have to say? And how do we invite them to visit our websites?
I am hoping to find out - see below.

I discovered there is an equivalent to speed dating - in clay art classes. Three girls came for a bride's day out, a two and a half hour speeded-up lesson which was very fast, fun, educating for all of us, and a wonderful idea. They got to spend time with each other, doing something they had never done before and they will come and collect their works of art in two weeks time.
Mazal Tov Maya - and her friends Lena and Rina.

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

The best blogging techniques.
How to get traffic to your blog.
How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

Fascination with line drawing

2009-05-05T08:11:00.006+03:00

Perhaps it is the order, the fine clarity, the surprises within a confined area, or the clean contrast of the black on white. Maybe its the meditative, repetitive and unplanned flow of the activity itself. I am not sure what it is that fascinates me more. But I would love to doodle some of my environment (one wall? a sofa?) and have this as a backdrop for people and art.
Here is a rendition on Photoshop - a nude sculpture on a line drawn background.

Living with Transience

2009-05-01T12:26:00.005+03:00

Unlike Change , Transience is not a choice - its a fact of life ( and of course death).
We are here for as long as we are here, and 'seize the day' is not a cliche to be bandied as a justification for wild and irresponsible living. It is the only way to enjoy life to the fullest.
As we get older, parting from friends becomes a more frequent reality, and part of the pain of loss - aside from the loss itself, involves all the things we missed out on, never said or thought we had time to do.
Another part of the pain is the drum roll of our own end - the sound which is heard a little more loudly when we say a final goodbye to someone dear.

Transience is there all the time. It sits on my shoulder and whispers about time wasted and things still to be achieved.
Its there when I create a fragile piece of art. It surrounds me when I visit my 90 year old mother. Its there when I look in the mirror.

Its there when a friend dies.

But living with Transience you still have to recognize and remember that there is a past, present and a future and that today is yesterday's tomorrow.

Taking the Random Papers out of doodling

2009-04-10T20:30:00.005+03:00

Tons of newpapers, phone sticky notes, random papers and plenty of black ink, have been thrown away covered in my doodles for years. "Kids dont leave any important papers near where I am sitting - you wont recognize them once I am done."
Suddenly it occurs to me to use paper intended for the doodling, and the right kind of permanent ink, and hey, I love the results! This one is clearly, "SMILES"
More on the Doodle 2d page of my website.

Suddenly today - change as a way of life

2009-04-06T13:51:00.006+03:00

Suddenly today I needed to change the look of my website

Does the need for change creep up on us, simmering slowly till is bursts out - manifesting itself as a need for immediate action? Or, are some of us just brats in terms of immediate satisfaction?
I have moved house about 15 times, not all of them through need. Somtimes - well, after moving rooms and furniture enough times, one needs something more Novel. A new city, a new country, and new job, a new life..
Living in Jaffa was enough of a challenge, the house never got finished . I could probably have stayed there forever...but I can't prove it.
Change, change, change.
It has taken me six months in Pardes Hanna to realize that I don't want to move.
I will have to make all the changes within the area I own, and plenty can still be done. Unless I have to make a change, I can really imagine living my life here. ( I might deny this later...)

But change is a necessity for me and so, for today, I had to go with a change to my website. Satisfying for now. Probably not the final look.
Hope you like it.
Any ideas for more changes?

The Open Gallery

2009-03-30T18:53:00.001+03:00

My vision realized. I wanted to turn the unused landing into an open gallery, and that is what it now is. It's a nice entrance to my apartment and studio, and I am going to set up the kiln room just off the landing, to have a permanent display/shop. I will advise opening hours and of course just call to set up a time to visit. Its a loft above a commercial building. New York in Pardes Hanna ...

Leonie Barel's Ceramic Art: Open Studio Thursday morning to Saturday Night

2009-03-24T11:28:00.000+02:00

Leonie Barel's Ceramic Art: Open Studio Thursday morning to Saturday Night
www.oman-ph.co.il

Open Studio Thursday morning to Saturday Night

2009-03-24T11:10:00.005+02:00

This guy keeps his own secrets, would you trust him with yours? You are invited to check him out.
Most of my secrets, passions, loves, hopes and even disappointments-are all out there to share with you this weekend.
Looking forward to seeing you !

The Mess 3 days before

2009-03-22T15:50:00.009+02:00

Every time before open house exhibitions-where ever it is, Los Angeles, Ramat Hasharon, Pardes Hana - there is this incredible mess that seems like things are never going to find their way together into a coherent presentation. Its the mess before it all comes together, hopefully.... I look forward to that moment on Wednesday night - Thursday morning, when everything will be spic and span ( looks like I will be cleaning myself...) marked and tagged, everything properly placed, and I can see the whole picture of what I have been working on.
So welcome you all, I hope you like it too.

Depends on the light and the angle

2009-03-09T15:06:00.006+02:00

As I was photographing some new pieces today, I realized that how the light falls and changes the look of my sculptures, so it is also with how we look at life, the people around us, the things they represent. Move the piece around and look at it from a different angle, in different light - and it can be either lovely or unpleasant.

So many times we take one quick glance and make decisions about things.
Do we often stop to ask what it is that is effecting us? Are we not influenced by how the light is falling? Or the angle we are seeing it from?

When we are impatient and react negatively to something, how often do we ask what shadow it casts in us to make us dislike it?

The way the light falls, the shadows that it creates, internal or external, these so often make us love (or dislike ) what we see in others.

The Rain came down

2009-02-28T15:37:00.001+02:00

So this is a deluge. A flood in the making.
Non stop rain for days , something has to give in a house made of plaster walls and who knows what on the roof.
I have already established that had I brought an engineer I wouldnt have bought this place, but anyone who has been here knows this would have been a sad mistake.
So, dust yourself off ( ah, so you think there is no dust here when it rains ? hmmm) pick yourself up, ( after slipping on the wet floors) and wait for the rain to stop to find someone to fix the leak in the roof in all three places, and find out why the drains are not working if they arent blocked, so that the water is seeping through the wall to the window frame.

OR, wait till the rain stops and summer comes and worry about it next year.

Whatever.

Oh and by the way if you have a recommendation for someone who fixes this kind of thing in Pardes Hanna area, do tell. I might do it before next winter then.

"Do I look ok?"

2009-02-18T19:16:00.008+02:00

This images are of prefire, wet painted greenware

The internal dialogue of self image, comes up in various degrees of understanding and depth, for most women, at various stages of our lifetime.
The weight issue I have been dealing with for so long keeps surfacing and it is partly to do with self image, and much to do with many other elements of emotional status.
Today it popped up in the studio with these two whimsical pieces asking "Do I look OK?"
Realizing that everywoman asks that question regardless of how thin or fat she is, how beautiful and young, or old and worn she is, is not something that happened today.
Working on these two women with many faults, assymetries and insecurities, is one more step towards self acceptance and enjoying my life.

My Ceramic Keepers of the Secrets

2009-02-15T18:16:00.012+02:00

These clay "bottles" hold and guard treasured secrets.

Secrets are a huge responsibility. If you are given one to keep, sometimes you might be tempted to give it away at a crucial moment, buying a moment's grace and losing trust forever.
People might like to own a keeper of secrets so that they can better contain and hold those secrets entrusted to them, or those moments they hold dear and do not wish to share or lose.

These guards of the bottles are not necessarily scary monsters, frightening away secret snatchers.They are reminders of innocent trust and therefore a little primitive and somewhat childishly wide eyed.

Stormy, bleak election day

2009-02-11T20:13:00.007+02:00

The storm that blew through election day yesterday, hailed, hammered and rained - the only storm we have seen this winter. The universe warning us of things to come . The storm knocked over more than my sun umbrella and hailed on more than my pot plants, ruining any hope we had of change . It blew in, (along with the broken branches, garbage and mud) Bibi .

Today the sun is shining with no sign of yesterday's stormy weather aside from the windswept surfaces. Blue skies. Wiped clean. Just like the collective memory we have of Bibi as prime minister the previous time.

What other explanation is there for him being voted into power again?

Early morning Sundial

2009-02-06T09:58:00.007+02:00

These are the sun spots that hit this wall in my bedroom when I wake up with the blinds partially closed, at various times of the early morning during the 4 months that I have been here.
The sun strikes that wall between 6 and 8 am with a slightly different shape each time. From the day I first woke up in this bedroom, I couldn't resist grabbing a pencil and marking the spots - thinking that it would be a sundial to tell the time as soon as I opened my eyes in the morning. The variety was so great that a difference of a few seconds meant a whole new shape and placement.
Sometimes they had moved by the time I could mark the row from top to bottom.
When the sun got too low in the winter , I painted the ones already marked.

The sculpture is simply on an existing screw in the wall but I like her there with her imperfection

Bottled Up

2009-01-29T11:28:00.006+02:00

These over-sized bottles suggest undefined origins and mystery surrounding their purpose and use. They could be giant perfume bottles, or used by healers and medicine men. They have no obvious tradition and no known religious symbolism.

They are inspired and evolve from a memory, a dream, a recognition that they have deep meaning for me. A watcher of the treasure. Keeper of the secret.

Leonie's art is enlisted: Can we Start Over

2009-01-26T13:48:00.000+02:00

Castra and the old road to Haifa

2009-01-13T17:12:00.005+02:00

Driving to the Castra mall in Haifa on the number 4 road, is like taking a chunk out of the past and jumping back to the sixties, when living at Alonei Yitzchak. The old road to Haifa was the only way to go and it hasnt changed much. Going past Ein Ayala, Kerem Maharal, driving through Feradis, oh what memories this brings back of the hope and dreams when Israel was so uncomplicated and so untrafficked, that the single lane to Haifa was fine for us.

Well its fine for me again. It reminded me of the way things used to be, and revived the hope that perhaps we havent lost our way completely.

I took some pieces to the Castra Gallery which has just reopened today, and discovered the beautiful Castra mall. The ceiling of the dome is gorgeous and its been a while since I have seen such a lovely commercial building. Its situated right next to the grand mall of Haifa so I am not sure how many people are there on a daily basis, but Friday morning is pretty busy. There are galleries and inependent stores rather than the regular chain stores and I do recommend it!!

Make art not war

2009-01-11T22:07:00.003+02:00

Trying to penetrate, infiltrate and subvert the consensus.
All I am using is this slogan: END WAR.
Things will not improve as a result of this war. We will only have worse on our hands, and I dont mean only blood. vvv v

Working At Last

2008-12-16T12:04:00.006+02:00

Ilai and Omri loved in, especially in the rain.

Well, all the annoying and unprofessional features notwithstanding, the studio is up and running. Its too hot in the sun and will need roof enhancement, but it was waterproof in the rain, and its light and airy to work in when the sun is not too summery.
So, despite the fact that I recommend NEVER going to SOCHECHEI HASHARON for anything, here it is, ready for students ( some have already started) and I am back in my element, working in the studio every free moment I have, instead of searching the kitchen for other forms of satisfaction.
Here is to hoping this fact will eventually be reflected in my weight too....

At last. My studio.

2008-12-04T18:51:00.006+02:00

I would
love to say it's over. But I have to advise anyone who is thinking of putting up a pergola, an awning, an enclosure - DO NOT use the company I used. Their service was bad, the information they gave was incorrect, the client is wrong never mind what and they do not discuss what they plan nor are they clear about what you are paying for.
Sochechei Hasharon. A large company, who have overcharged for bad work.

That being said, I am delighted to be able to set up classes and start working in the studio.
Classes will be Sunday and Wednesday evenings and Tuesday mornings.
Anyone interested- do call me.

Bewildered by The New Israeli Anti Spam Law

2008-11-24T10:32:00.006+02:00

Not that I won't be happy to stop deleting 100's of spam mails from my Gmail spam folder, and not that I won't be delighted if the odd mass marketing mail doesn't slip through into my Mac Mail program there to be marked in brown as spam. But somehow this is a little over the top I think.

In any case I have sent out my pre-law request for people to advise me if they would like to be removed from my list of Ceramic Art invitations and news, and some have, which is fine. But perhaps I was supposed to do it the other way around and ask people to let me know if they would like to stick around for more news. Some of my friends have told me to keep sending...

But would it be spam again if I send out another letter asking people to answer in the postitive and isnt it more likely that NO's will send in their cancellation requests?

And am I still abiding by the law then??

And Please if you are reading this, ask me to take you off before you sue me. I really am not spam. I am nothing like the stuff I get in my spam box. Oh and by the way, 99.9% of the spam I get doesn't come from local Israeli senders....how long is the long arm of the law??

Looking forward to seeing you at exhibitions and on my blog.

pigeon pie

2008-11-16T08:50:00.004+02:00

More stuff going on...
Turns out not only do I have pigeon nests, I have tiny drain flies. They too need extermination. And me still without the STUDIO or the LIFT.
Life is about changing plans as priorities lead you down a different path, spending your allocated money on things that are far more urgent.
Sigh....

where the studio will one day be

2008-11-09T21:43:00.007+02:00

Let's
utilize the space for fun while we wait to transform it into a studio!!!

And now for something Completely Different

2008-11-07T23:03:00.004+02:00

Public Health, hospitals, independence, dependence, age, Carpe Diem, provision for old age, pension, nest eggs, wealth, poverty - all this difficult stuff I never want to think about, these are the issues that took over this week.

My almost 90 year old mother fell and broke her elbow, which has thrown me into dealing with completely different issues in addition to the current fixing my studio, apartment etc.
She (we) had to wait around for 7 hours in the ER to get attention , fasted 24 hours instead of 6 while waiting for surgery which started 10 hours after schedule - here is the resulting cast. Its heavy and its huge.
Now she is back at her wonderful Beit Protea home, where warm and wonderful people take care of her and we hope she recovers completely and soon.

And so we progress

2008-11-02T21:17:00.004+02:00

The frame is up . Not sure when the covers arrive, but for the moment it gives the terrace a nice warm look that begs for wisteria and geraniums. But dont look too closely. The workmanship and finish is NOT what I thought I was paying for...perhaps its just as well it will be mostly covered up and used as a workspace.

Another before photo

2008-10-28T15:03:00.003+02:00

This is my studio. Before. Planks of wood on a wet terrace.
Waiting not so patiently, now for the rain to stop?

Country Living

2008-10-19T18:03:00.005+02:00

Warm filtered light, a pot of flowers on a pine table, looks like country living in downtown Pardes Hana. The table is actually there temporarily till the studio is up and some of you will recognize it as the main work table.
It does look nice here. That is some compensation for the delays in the construction of the pergola in which the studio should be installed.
I have a new hopeful deadline for starting classes and scupture, beginning to mid November. A month late!!
More photos will be added as projects come to a finish. I am looking forward to putting up before and afters .

Leonie Barel's Ceramic Art: Sundown, Pardes Hana

2008-10-18T07:54:00.000+02:00

Leonie Barel's Ceramic Art: Sundown, Pardes Hana

Sundown, Pardes Hana

2008-10-08T20:25:00.004+02:00

Finally. Just over a month since the big move, I am at HOME again.

Sometimes the worry and concern about something we are going to have to do is far greater than the actuality.
This is not, definitely not, the case of my latest move.

Packing of home and studio in August was an impossible strain . The anxiety surrounding the dates of entry and exit and all the scenarios that had me sleepless at night however, failed to materialize. It didn't help to foresee all the possible problems because naturally the difficulties all popped up where they were NOT expected.

There were some unpleasant surprises in the apartment too. When you buy intuitively as I did, that is bound to happen. If I had brought an expert to check it, I probably would not have bought it - what a shame that would have been. I am taking risks and reaping the benefits.
So instead of the planned investments ( fixing the elevator) I have had to spend my budget on things I didnt know would need to be done. Its a gradual process, giving the apartment my personal feel, making it my own home. I love the process, and I am adjusting to some of the surprises and inconveniences and eventually, I hope I will just not notice them anymore.

The building itself is really neglected and ugly. I knew that, no surprise here.
Kickboxing twice a week for 45 minutes on the floor beneath you, can shake you up, and tinkle the glasses in the cabinet - at least I know when to expect it.... It is an unexpected fact that the drainpipe from the terrace would be an annoyance to the gym on the ground and basement floor, even though it did occur to me to worry about the owner being a feared and well known neighbourhood feature.

Waking up to the smell of freshly baked croissants at 5 am ( from the Goren bakery which is the building closest to my bedroom) is a shock I was totally unprepared for along with the trundling of a cart probably laden with baked goods, that sounds like I have woken up in a 19th century village.
I did worry about pigeon nests, and now I have them... soon to be dealt with.

The potential of the terrace was a strong factor in my choice of the apartment and it is truly fulfilling its promise. Candle lit dinners, morning coffee, evening wine all on the terrace, talking to my newly planted box garden of hopefully all the herbs I could hope for ( basil, rosemary, louisa, laurel, lavender, oregano, thyme etc) and watching the birds settle in the trees down the road at sundown, these are the prize for me at the end of the impossible move, which I could never have done without the help I got from Sharon the Packer and Organizer (get her phone number from me ), my amazing sons and daughters in law. My garden is thanks to my sister Erica.

Now I am waiting for the studio to be set up on half of the terrace. The electrical installations for the kiln are in process.
I can't wait to set up my studio and get back to working in clay. I have no idea what direction two or three months of total abstinence will take me. After this major change I am excited to start!

I am nearing the end of my extreme adventure. I have been on a vacation from the realities of livelihood for almost two months and its been good. The next chapter is about to begin .

Thank you Matt Nolen (Aida and Givat Haviva)

2008-06-03T11:01:00.005+03:00

The two day workshop with Matt Nolen opened a new terrain of ceramic thinking for me. It ain't over till it's over is the bottom line; the possibility of adding and subtracting saving the best parts of a piece and taking it to the final potential, is possible now with all the tricks in his bag which he shares so generously.
Matt Nolen is a wonderful,warm and exciting artist, who manges to enthuse others with the joy of the possibilities of ceramic art, taking a fresh look at rules and regulations - breaking them to create more exciting and surprising results.
I am now in the process of redefining my finished pieces, some which I had thought done are going back into work, others in the process, have changed direction completely. With newly learned techniques and processes, the richness of layered pieces is tempting . It is a process of learning and will take a while before I find my way here, following my own style, while opening up and adding new dimensions. The process of learning, as always, the way to the goal, is the most exciting.
Thank you Matt, and Aida for bringing him, for the new horizons and renewed creative excitement that the workshop has brought.

And well, its also time to reveal that starting this month I will also be working full time - and I really hope that evenings and weekends will be exploited to the maximum for my art.

I feel blessed to have these options open up and the ability to follow more than one path at once. I shall miss being a full time artist, but my relationship with the bank will surely improve.

Change, change, change

2008-05-15T23:47:00.009+03:00

At last its a signed deal.
I am moving to Pardes Hana at the end of the summer. Looking forward to change once again, and to having my own place to paint and repaint and celebrate with wall color and plan pieces to fit where intended and make it look like it really is my Home.

Hopefully to separate ceramic dust from home space though the studio will not be far away, so I will still be in it first thing in the morning and with my last energy at night...

To sum up the four years in this rented apartment(was going to be for one year when I moved in): it is not a place I would stay in any longer, not even if the landlord were suddenly to tell me I can stay in it forever rent free !

Pardes Hana closes a circle for me. I hope that the changes I can keep making in my own apartment will be as much as I need.... and that it might be a long time before I have to pack and move again.

Its a little far for some of you, but there will be much more I can offer you there!!

To the birds

2008-05-07T11:53:00.004+03:00

How could the fine eggshells not lead to the next step, to the birds? Women, clothes, birds, makes sense doesn't it? Birds, chics, preening. ..
The connection was actually made by the curator at Gan Shmuel who suggested I take part in an exhibition of birds. As things tend to do when you are open and ready for them, the offer came at an excellent time, when I was taking those fine egg shell edges and putting them onto creatures as wings.
The kiln is waiting to fire with all the egg shells ( mine and my students') and fine edged bowls and cups and saucers, with experimental edging and glazing , and now there are cracked eggs with bug eyed chics in them waiting to be fired
along with the pelican.

Stasis

2008-04-24T19:55:00.006+03:00

So many unknown quantities and directions in this period of suspended animation as I wait to hear the outcome of negotiations regarding where I will be living next year. So many changes to occur at the end of the approaching summer that I can hardly plan ahead until I know for sure what they will be.Life in stasis - hopefully only till I know for sure.
Or, perhaps as the heat sets in so does sluggishness, and perhaps the time limit of living in a place not my own - has been reached anyhow. Change, one of my major motivations - is calling out of every corner including the cupboards that need sorting out again....
And so it is not without reason that this brittle balance of time is in these egg-shell light pieces which are still to be refired with the glaze.
These fragile vessels are made in terracotta earthen ware, white fine clay and gray stoneware low fired. Fine and delicate as they are, absolutely NO paper clay was used after all.

Time Out

2008-04-14T22:34:00.010+03:00

Despite my absolute faith to the contrary, it turns out that I am unable to do everything at once.
Job hunting, going to interviews, flat hunting, promoting my translation services and decision making regarding income and the immediate future - take their toll on my creativity.
I haven't really done any work in the studio since creating the Made in Israel collection, other than holding my workshops.
One of my students advised me tactfully, that she is disappointed when she comes into the studio and sees no new work of mine. I do get that and it has pinpointed my current state of mind.
I have started blogs a few times in the past month, but had nothing to talk about in terms of my art . Now I realize that in itself is a fact worth considering and solving.
Well, hopefully I will soon know the status of my home dilemma. Hopefully translations will start pouring in soon,and the new exhibition opening on the 1st of May will drum up more interest.
Something to guarantee an income unless I find a position that does that.
Meantime, my creative urge has been spent on apple graphic software ( instead of clay) making new brochures and a business card.

Visiting the Past

2008-03-29T01:43:00.005+03:00

Time did not stop in the present while I went back into the early 60's in Israel, scooping up memories of bare minimalism for the exhibition in May, called "Israeli Made". I revisited those moments of discovering that everything we had known about clothes and utensils up until our arrival in Israel, was foreign and alien and just did not fit in here. Plain and simple was the new order.
As I remembered in clay, nostalgia took over and brought back all newly sculpted garments, shoes and accessories, souvenirs of the simplicity of Israel in the days we now remember as charming. But they were so difficult then.
I remembered the days at Alonei Yitzchak, as new arrivals, visiting the laundry to pick up clothes for the week, and finding it hilarious that we were not allowed to wear a white shirt except for the Sabath. Ata, Maskit, Dafna, Nimrod, these were the brands of the day. That word didnt exist in our vocabulary, but the uniformity and strange rules did. At the time I would never have believed that the strangeness would one day inspire me. A month ago, I had no idea that working with these memories would connect me strongly to such deep roots.

Working with focus and direction

2008-03-15T23:14:00.004+02:00

There are times when the morning starts with a definite idea and theme and I barely make it through the rituals of shower/teeth/coffee, and in fact often go straight into the studio on the way to the bathroom and hours later, remember I have forgotten the order of starting the day, so caught up am I in the work and current project.
Then there are times like the past two weeks, when technique is the project itself, and nothing really materializes as a full blown direction. I have been back and forth and in and out of the studio a million times a day, doing little things here and there and wondering when the drive will kick in. Sometimes, it turns out, it comes with direction and focus given by an outside source.
I had been considering the work for a new group exhibition, called "Totseret Haaretz" or "Israeli Made" and going back and forth without a decision. Two words of direction from the curator and ZING, it all falls into place and I have the drive and energy back in place.
Despite the cost of taking part in exhibitions, and the obvious advantages and enjoyment of showing my work, there is an added value. Having a theme and a deadline - in fact a limit on creativity, does, sometimes, set off the ignition and a chain reation of great ideas.

The next best thing

2008-03-12T17:49:00.002+02:00

The next best thing to following your dreams, is making compromises you can live with. I could be talking about my dream of creating large edifices in paper clay - then making do with a combination of this and regular clay, or carrying on with what I love anyhow, all kinds of earthenware clay. But I am not.
I am looking for the compromise between being a creative artist who wakes up in the morning to the joy of teaching and or creating a new collection, and looking for a job to earn a feasible living , which will not need complete dedication of all of my time. If I could do that, it would be the next best thing, and I would be fine.

However, and there was an obvious" but " here, I still haven't found this next best thing. After two and a half months I am still unemployed. Who would have thought that a 58 year old with a clear idea of the perfect part time job ( well paid, interesting , flexible , very little filing, working for a sweetheart of a boss), would not find this all waiting around the corner ?
What happened to The Secret? Here I am believing i will find the perfect job, the kind I want ; where is the law of attraction sending it? Could there be someone out there who wants it more than I do? Or perhaps dare I doubt its existence?
Well, if any of you happen to know of a post in translating, merchandising, correspondence, or whatever can be done freelance or part time, LET ME KNOW .

I in the meantime will continue trying to follow my dream while waiting for the next best thing.

Combined use of paper clay - prefire Painting

2008-03-07T01:16:00.007+02:00

Paper clay sheets which have been dried on the plaster bats serve as great canvases. I had to be careful with the amount of wet glazes and underglazes used on the greenware. as it did start decomposing when it got too wet.
For my first trial I went for something really simple with a water color look, but it will be interesting to try more complex painting or the lazertan (www.lazertran.com) transfer paper to print my digital art onto these sheets, either before or after firing. The rough edges give a recycled paper look ( well, it basically is - its made from old newspapers and will have a rougher look once the paper has burned out) a kind of trompe l'oeil - because it will be a light weight ceramic tile.

Combined use of paper clay - prefire

2008-03-07T00:48:00.006+02:00

The most recent batch of paper clay is dwindling, as I experiment, using it in conjunction with other clays. Here I used it to form an airy base for a small sculpture. Since the paper clay is pretty sturdy as greenware, it can be used to hold some weight despite its open work.

Using a bowl shaped plaster base to structure the coils on, I placed the sculptures in the right shape to fit the paper clay base.

Back to Blogger, back to sculpting

2008-03-05T16:24:00.006+02:00

Back to sculpture after some weeks of trying out new combinations of paper and clay, ( not having given up on finding ways to make molds and castings but taking a break from that).
All of a sudden I realized that my restlessness and general feeling of discontent stem directly from NOT having sat down quietly to sculpt per se in a week or two. I obviously need the chemical exuded by my brain at the touch of my fingers to clean, soft, pliable, fresh clay and a couple of hours of following my heart to where it wants to go.
I have to say that the time spent was not wasted at all. Using paper clay in combination with my clay sculptures, offers possibilities unworkable before. I am soaring on the wings of ideas and working happily again. I will soon see how connecting between the regular clay and the paper mix works in firing but for the duration of the process of creating it, I will go blindly into the joy it brings.