Leonie Barel's Ceramic Art: Sundown, Pardes Hana

Leonie Barel's Ceramic Art: Sundown, Pardes Hana

Sundown, Pardes Hana

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)

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

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

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

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

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.