The Goldmark Cultural Center’s Norman Brown Gallery is proud to present “The Nature of Things”, an exhibition featuring new ceramic works by Lisa Ehrich.
The exhibition is on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s Norman Brown Gallery from 3 November, 2023 to 9 December, 2023. The exhibition reception is on Saturday, 11 November, 2023 from 1.00pm - 3.00pm.
About the Exhibition
I make clay objects that are influenced by nature. Embedded in the layers of intention and accident are the ideas that inspire my work: the sensuality of form, implied volume, human touch to a natural object, symbols of fragility, healing, and regeneration.
My experience of working with clay cannot be separated from my life experience, which includes a passion for research and travel. My eyes, head, and spirit have been filled with images of a ceramic world that includes ancient skills, timeless forms, and conceptual and symbolic content. Italian niches, Stonehenge, the Canadian Rockies, my backyard garden, and much more reside in my subconscious well that feeds my imagery and symbolism.
I move from throwing to hand-building, seeking the process that best actualizes the ideas that emerge. My surfaces are intended to reveal the form, to feel like the skin of an object, appearing as a natural consequence of its being. I focus on atmospheric firings to achieve the desired effects and often use sandblasting as a final step. A medley of other materials is sometimes employed to complete a concept, which results in a visually poetic combination.- Lisa Ehrich, 2023
About the Artist: Lisa Ehrich
Having grown up in a small town in Mississippi, several things were very important to me, traveling and making things. Traveling affirmed that the world was much larger than the Delta and making things allowed my hands to understand the beauty and oddness of the world in which I lived.
I came from a very artistic family. When I was 13, my parents sent my sister and I to study art for the summer at the Banff Center of Arts in Alberta, Canada. I was transformed by the experience and knew my life would always include some form of art- making. It was my sophomore year in college at the University of Texas at Austin that I took my first ceramics class. Graduate school followed at the University of North Texas where my major was Ceramics and my minor, Sculpture. I graduated UNT in 1981 with a clear vision of wanting to teach in higher education and desiring to make objects in clay.
Since 1982, I have enjoyed 40+ years of teaching and providing leadership for the Art Department at Brookhaven Campusof Dallas College. The classroom,students, and working with amazingcolleagues have given me the chance to build a challenging and rewarding career. Also, the opportunity to teach field courses in Italy and England allowed our students and me to expand our perspectives while learning different cultures.
Working in clay continues to be my primary medium in my studio practice as an artist.As I transition from my teaching career to being a full-time artist, I am excited to enter this phase of my professional career.
- Lisa Ehrich, 2023