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Four Women in Clay February 7 - March 19, 2005 Women in Clay was organized by the North Carolina State University Gallery of Art and Design, Dr. Lynn Jones Ennis, Curator of the Collection. |
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Clara Couch
Clara Roundtree Couch's journey toward becoming an artist didn't begin until she was in her forties. Born in 1923, Couch grew up in Georgia and graduated from Agnes Scott College with a degree in biology. Like many women of the time, she married, had children, and became a good community citizen by volunteering her time and talents. Together the Couches raised four daughters in Charlotte.
Fondly known as "Kitty," Couch made many friends and kept busy with such organizations as the Junior League. Her life was confortable and predictable--until a trip to Europe in 1963. When Harold and Kitty Couch went to Italy, Kitty fell in love with the art she saw at every turn. In St. Mark's Square in Venice, Kitty had her epiphany. She came home a changed woman, intent on shifting her priorities. Couch began a quest that changed not only her life, but also the lives of those around her.
With spark and enthusiasm, Kitty Couch set out to learn about clay. She enrolled at Sacred Heart College in Belmont, NC, and received a degree in art. She then pursued her graduate degree at the New York School of Ceramic Art and Alfred University and taught clay at Central Piedmont Community College. The works Couch made continue to calm, inspire, and connect both viewer and maker to the earth.
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After her husband died in 1982, Couch spent much of her time at their home in Burnsville, NC, where she did most of her work. In her studio overlooking a pond, surrounded by wildlife, Couch worked to develop what she called "an artful life." She was always seeking to understand herself and the world at large, and in her later life she turned to the spiritual practive of Buddhism. Of her work, Couch wrote: "It is about my relationship to the natural world of form and its mysterious content." She said that her works "are symbolic containers that seek to replicate the spiral movement of the earth." To sit with her in her studio and have tea that she prepared with such care, wasting nothing, was to begin to understand how she blended her life with her art. She laughed a lot and gave each conversation the same careful attention she gave to shaping each pot. Couch loved adventurous travel - she celebrated her eightieth birthday in Brazil in 2002. She also traveled across Siberia on the Trans Siberian Railroad. A January 2004 trip to South China by way of Vietnam was to be another one of her grand adventures. In late December of last year, she was set to go - and looking forward to this exhibition upon her return and to sharing her new work. |
On January 3, Couch died in an automobile accident in Vietnam. She will be deeply missed, but she leaves a legacy of craftsmanship and a spirit large enough to give comfort to those who loved her.
Jennie Bireline
Born and raised in Texas, Jennie Bireline majored first in art, then English, at the University of Oklahoma. Like many women of her generation, she married, had children and, as she says, spent her days rocking everyone to sleep twice. Beginning in 1959, Bireline and her husband spent a year in London before settling down in Bowling Green, Ohio, in 1960. The year in London gave Bireline much to do and see. She was intrigued by the British Museum's international collection of art and artifacts. The city's antique shops gave her an opportunity to examine old objects. J.M.W. Turner's fiery seascapes at the Tate Museum "brought me to my knees."
When Bireline was living in Ohio and raising a family, she had her first experience working with clay. A friend volunteered her for a class, and the moment she put her hands into clay, Bireline connected. She never forgot that feeling, although years passed before she experienced it again.
The family moved to Raleigh in the early 1960s. A decade later, she and her husband divorced and Jen went to work at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Over the years she held several positions and eventually became curator of the Mary Duke Biddle Gallery for the Blind. She renewed an earlier acquaintance with George Bireline, a professor of painting at N.C. State University's School of Design. They were married in 1978.
In the early 1980s, Bireline left her job and revived her interest in clay. She attended workshops and classes whenever and wherever she could--at the N.C. State University Crafts Center, Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, among others--studying raku and other techniques with nationally recognized potters.
When she wanted to work on larger pieces in earthenware and terra sigillata, she took a class in Asheville offered by Virginia Scotchie. For the first time, Bireline created what has become one of her trademarks--off-centered, asymmetrical, coil-built pots. She filled her small, cozy studio with images, objects, and offerings from nature to inspire her. She kept learning and eventually, she began teaching at the NCSU Craft Center and other area ceramic programs.
Bireline developed a way of working by sketching out an idea on any handy piece of paper. These ideas find their way onto pots that require examination from all angles. Each side brings yet a new twist and turn. Then she adds a decorative surface which, if removed, could form a painting in its own right. While many of her works are coil-built, she uses slabs with the same ease.
When George Bireline died in August of 2002, Jen lost not only a husband and friend: she lost a creative partner. After she stepped back into the studio, she began making pots that form a series titled "Sentinel." These pots honor George's memory and their relationship and are a testament to her talent.
Virginia Scotchie
Virginia Scotchie began her college career at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and transferred to UNC-Chapel Hill, graduating in 1977 with degrees in religion and sociology. Afterward, she went on an archaeological dig in Israel and then on to Penland School of Crafts. In 1985, she graduated from New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, with an M.F.A. degree in ceramics and set off for Morgantown, West Virginia, where she taught for several years at West Virginia University. From there she went to Indiana University to teach ceramics. In 1992, she moved to the University of South Carolina, and it is there that she has found her home.
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To be around Scotchie is to witness energy in motion. She processes information on so many levels. Her joyful home is full of color and wonderful objects. Her husband, Peter Lenzo, also is a potter and works in assemblages that are scattered throughout the house. Between them they have three children, three dogs, two cats, and several reptiles. Scotchie pays attention, and it is this attention that allows her to transform everyday items such as funnels into works of art that invite closer inspection. Sometimes she pokes holes in objects once functional, only to render them unusable in their traditional sense. Often when she starts a piece, Scotchie isn't sure where it will go. Although she does sketch - she has sketchbooks in every room of her house - she rarely makes something that looks exactly like what she has drawn. And she likes solitude when she is working with the clay form. Her newly built studio in her back yard is reached by walking through a lovely garden adorned with ceramic spheres, inviting visitors to stop and look. Her former workspace was shared with Lenzo; now they each have a studio. Her sparse space is filled with light and an orderly calmness. Scotchie is a planner. For example, she cuts wooden forms into various shapes, which serve as patterns for her work. |
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Scotchie turns out an amazing amount of work. Her technique is polished and proficient. Ideas spring from all parts of her life, and she delights in teaching and touting the accomplishments of her students. Color infuses her objects, and it is a joy to see many of her works at once.
Virginia Scotchie's constant investigation of the world is sure to produce many more treasures.
Lydia Thompson
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Lydia Thompson grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and it wasn't until she received a B.F.A. in ceramics from Ohio State University in 1983 that she ventured to other regions. She attended graduate school at New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Here she studies with Wayne Higby, Tom Spleth and Val Cushing and was introduced to new ideas and adventures. When she finished in 1985, receiving an M.F.A. in ceramics, Thompson spent a year researching traditional adobe architecture in Nigeria as a Fulbright Hayes Scholar. Before she left, the college asked her to be director of the Educational Opportunity Program when she returned. This new program was developed for students defined as academically and financially disadvantaged. Thompson accepted; it was her way of giving back. For the next fifteen years, Thompson continued working in administration. In 1990, she became the assistant dean of undergraduate studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. She traveled often, and she kept her artistic interests alive by making objects from paper and foam board. The media was portable and easy to work with, and it didn't dry out as clay did if left unattended. With these works as a foundation, she returned to ceramics in 2001. Objects that speak to personal history influence Thompson's work. While she was in Nigeria, the hair combs worn by the local women caught her eye. These ornate combs that for a while found form in her paper work have translated into her recent work in clay. Another object referenced in her current work is the heddle pulley, an African tool used in weaving. Traditionally, they are many times carved and decorated and are passed down from one generation to the next. Thompson sees them as transferring information from generation to generation. Thompson's work is both figurative and architectural. She considers each object to be a messenger telling a story. She writes that her creative process includes her interest in "community, social issues and my experiences." She employs forms to "make a spiritual connection by using structures and symbols that connect life cycles." |
Today, Thompson keeps busy teaching at VCU Department of Craft/Material Studies and working in her home studio on hand-built forms. She has converted the garage into a bright studio space. This space is full of energy and is stockpiled with books, drawings, and the tools of her trade. She is supported in her work by her husband, illustrator Alex Bostic. Between them they have five children and three grandchildren.