many paths lead home

My most recent “commission” has long been paid for, over and over and over. It is a picture of my family home, the very centre of my—our—world until… I left. University, love, a new home, jobs, emigration, another home—so many transitions and new stories but whatever “home” is, wherever I am, there is a sense or feeling that has never left me: I know this place, and a part of me feels like I belong there.

I drew the house, the medieval church in the centre of town, the way flowers or a spanner or a horse or rail-tracks fit together to represent us all; each small part symbolic to the whole. I drew a story that describes “home”, this place to which we return, where our lives will always overlap. Funny, I didn’t really notice how the river, the road, and the rails also lead away.

Fluvius Visum (River View). Chased brass panel, custom half-lap alder frame
finished with milk paint and beeswax. 12 x 12 x 2 ins. 2014.

So do I belong to the bricks and mortar? Or to the family and friends I share this home with and the memories we make together? Maybe moving away has become part of the process of creating more stories—pictures—that can intersect, and connect many paths that might lead home.

With love to my brother, his wife and daughter and all the family pets; dedicated to our dear mum who worried and cared and made sure everyone was nourished.

Comments

obsessing in public

obsessive chasing desire: the process in which the metal artist yields to their need to strike one piece of metal with carefully shaped tools for a very, very , long time. I will be doing a chasing metalwork demonstration at Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond, Alberta, on Saturday December 5, 2015. I will have loads of samples - flat chased pictures, works in progress - and a very special holly sprig that I have been working on for over 90 hours… Look forward to seeing you there. “Run”. Brass portrait study. Chasing and repoussé. 14.5 x 9 x 3 cms. Christine Pedersen. 2014. ‘ Chasing ’ is the use of tools to create lines or texture marks on the surface of metal, it can be just like drawing. But the artwork can also be made into a three dimensional form by hitting and stretching the metal surface from behind—‘ repoussé ’—to sculpt relief, or volume, into the metal surface. The Statue of Liberty is probably the most famous repousséd object in the world - it’s also an awful l...

hello you...

I always keep a piece from a new body of work: I need to spend time getting to know it. #15 “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow: Orange and Red Slurpee” pinched porcelain vase form. Height: 8 inches. Christine Pedersen. 2015. And so #15 stayed with us, and I schemed up a delightful challenge for myself: in the name of art—and pictures for my blog—I would fill it with flowers for every opportunity I could make up for a whole year. Sweet. First up: a lovely (and very modestly priced) bouquet from the supermarket for Christmas 2015. #15 “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow: Orange and Red Slurpee” pinched porcelain vase form. Seasonal flowers. Christine Pedersen. 2015. I always approach a vase thinking about the overall shape, as something to contemplate in my home, because most of the time it will probably stand empty. But as I make the piece, I end up imagining flowers and how they will fill it: how the stalks reach down to the bottom and push off at an angle; how wide a...

my brand: I am a nerd

His & Hers Nerd Pendants. Sterling silver. 2011. There is no point in denying it: I am a nerd. I designed these pendants for the "Branded" exhibition at the fabulous Influx Gallery in Calgary this summer. I like to bring my background in science and natural history into my art work, and in this case, I also brought some political advocacy. In an era in which some cultures still deny females equal access to education, I used the loaded motif of the apple to create a context to present the writing to the viewer. Here's the full artist statement: His and her “ nerd ” pendants confidently declare affiliation with a tribe that delights in knowledge, education and technology. Nerdism nourishes the world around us, and we are proud of that contribution. His “ nerd ” pendant is about strength in identity. Styled after a traditional branding iron, the pendant is a rugged and substantial piece of silver, designed to perpetuate this important meme beyond one life...

metal is clay

Search This Blog