i’ve just discovered marie gibbon’s work and i find it deeply moving. there is a certain darkness in some of her creations, but rather than being disturbed by it, i feel an immense sense of beauty arising from it - and i agree with much marie is saying about ‘darkness’ further down. darkness is the journey where the soul comes face to face with itself, with its terror as well as with its beauty. for me, much of this journey is reflected in marie gibbons’ work … something that probably also can be found in her own words below, embedded between the images of her creation …
CONCEPT
“I work figuratively, in a narrative nature, using clay and mixed media. My pieces are informed through my experiences in life, and the experiences of those around me. Metaphor is important to me, in Art as well as in everyday living. The comparisons of one situation to another offers varied view points and outcomes that help me to disect a situation and evaluate it from several angles. I try not to see the world in black and white, but in the multitude of color, depth and value that is present at any given moment.
When I begin a new body of work it most often roots in a particular situation. My own experiences as a woman, artist and mother, my take on the world around me and my speculations of cultural status quos and what brought us to that point, the trials and tribulations I witness as my children grow up, and my input through clay to prove or disprove that I understand what they are going through. I often start new works from key words and their deffinitions, cliches, lines in a song, poetry.”
TECHNIQUE
“My work is hand-built using a variety of methods: Slab, coil and pinch techniques, forming the total structure of a piece.
Press molds that are assembled and altered to create unique repetitions of a form in size and general appearance.
Slip-cast pieces from commercial molds that are then released from their molds and dissected, altered, and assembled in new arrangements to create completely different forms and imagery than the original intent of the mold.
The finishing of my work is not done in a traditional manner to the medium of clay. I use little or no fired glazes on my work. Typically my work is finished using Post-fired finishes: acrylic paints and washes, metallic surfacers and patina solutions, wax pigments, to name a few. It is my belief that “The ends justify the means”, and it is my duty to use the mediums that will best accomplish the end result I see in my mind’s eye.”
WASHED IN A NIGHT SKY
A word about “THE DARK SIDE”
“Some of my work has been viewed as being “dark, macabre, depressing”. This ‘darker’ work is what I view as my most soulful work. These are the pieces through which I explore my deepest emotions, opinions, and experiences. There is a comfort in darkness. It is a blanket–it envelops us, nurtures us, allows us to close our eyes and rest. It also gives us the time to dream. If you picture yourself standing outside in the night air of a full moon and imagine the quiet comfort of darkness and silence, the calmness and solitude that night sky provides–this is the feeling that is in that black wash I gently coat these works with. The flip side of this comforting dark sky is that of our own imagination, and our lack of total control with our interpretations. That same beautiful moonlit evening can twist in a moment when we hear a twig snap and cannot see the cause of the noise. At that moment the hair stands up on the back of our necks, and the plight of the unknown runs fear through our minds. Now that once comforting blanket of night sky presents a looming fear of the unknown. This unknown is the element that often labels a work as dark, seeing emotional content and not knowing or wanting to address it’s origin. Sometimes it is easier to just look at it as darkness and dismiss, rather than connect to the emotional charge that it emits. This very situation is one of the reasons I love this ‘dark’ work–it allows me to have this conversation, to remind people of the comfort found under a full moon blanketed by the night sky.”
for further information say ‘hello’ on marie’s website …
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Now playing: I Am Kloot - No Direction Home; Hot Chip - No Fit State; Bonobo - Silver; Dead Prez & Outlawz - Came-Up; Modest Mouse - Tiny Cities Made of Ashes (BBC Radio Edit); Public Enemy - Revolutionary Generation; Digable Planets - The May 4Th Movement; The Mountain Goats - Whole Wide World - via FoxyTunes
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