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Friends and Inspirations

"Friends and Inspirations" is the title of the 1997 Exhibition of ceramic Art at the Mendocino Art Center, October 3-27. The Center invited Doug Browe, founder with his wife, Jan Hoyman, of the Hoyman Browe Studios to curate a show of his own choosing. Browe in curating this showhas selected the teachers, friends and students that have been important to him and instrumental in his own work in clay. The show is comprised of a wide range of ceramic disciplines from functional pottery to ceramic sculpture, from elegant tall bottles created by Brent Heerspink, who Doug worked with as a studio assistant 25 yrs. ago, to a long sensual oval serving tray made by Alleghany Meadows who in turn was Doug's studio assistant a few years ago. Others in the show are Willem Gebben, Dill Strickland, Dan Gorno, Jan Hoyman, Tom Orr, Larry Henderson, Leslie Campbell, Jacquellne Davidson and Ken Rothman.

"In putting together this collection of ceramics, I was intending a showcase for a group of very important artists who work for the most part, outside the mainstream of contemporary ceramics." says Browe. 'The majority of artists in this show have dedicated themselves to making work that touches people with compassion and embraces their political commitments by creating a complete circle, a closed loop of designer-maker and user, friend and neighbor, person to person, a model based on a quieter and gentler time of daily life of family and friends. These are the makers of tools... designed and produced for the needs of our lives. These are political objects in the direction they encourage us to take our lives. They encourage us to take time for tea, to enjoy sharing a dinner with friends and family, to look for the beauty in our tools and toys".

"We Ilve in an age where increasingly we are being divided into groups of haves and have nots, and this is manifest in the clay world as 'famous potter" sells a hand made set of 4 cups In a wooden box for $750 and its "Malmack" and "Corel" for the masses. Museum pieces for the palacious vestibules and plastic for the hovels. At one time, the poor traditional societies of the world had spirituality and sumptuously rich works of the hands.

They now have in most cases neither. Evolution has become in our global society amassing things, and for the majority it has become collections of ill-designed and often poorly made goods with no integrity or soul. And for the chosen elite, the contemporary shamans of craft compose sumptuous creations to stir and up lift their souls. It is almost as functional daywork has been discredited, or mad to seem less important than its mores self-indulgent "clay art" sister, with the sole reason to dlsenfranchise the masses that still cling to hand work for meaning and connectedness In their daily lives.

Instead of comfort and reassurance from the tools of their Iife they are only able to obtain those things whose sole reason of design and manufacture is price point and availability. The true sin and atrocity of this practice will not be known for years to come. As Ananda Coomaraswaami wrote in the 60's "Industry without art is brutality". And we can be sure that brutality will come home to roost...and it will be sooner than we think".

The public is invited to the opening reception to be held October 11, 5-8 p.m. at the main gallery at the Mendocino Art Center, 45200 Little Lake Rd., in Mendocino. The show which includes works from private collections and pieces for sale will close October 27. Please phone 937- 5818 for more information.