During the month of April, Shinan Barclay’s pottery will be on display in the lobby of the Coos Bay Library.
A well-published writer, Shinan Barclay discovered the tangible craft of clay-making during the summer of 2000, in a ceramic’s class at Southwestern Oregon Community College. Under the enthusiastic instruction of Sue Scott, Shinan’s ceramic expression blossomed. And over the following years, with additional art teachers, she continues to produce extraordinary, one-of-a-kind art pieces and handmade tiles.
Clay, one of the end products of geologic time, is found on every continent and pottery has been part of every culture and age. Cup, bowl, bottle and vase, each vessel has evolved into a similar, global form. Foot, belly, shoulder, neck and lip are terms that describe the human body and the pottery form. Despite numerous cultures, continents and centuries, pottery’s form and design continue to mimic the human torso.
“As a kid I envied a neighbor woman who made pottery on a kick wheel in her basement,” says Shinan. “I found solace squished in mud in Mom’s garden. Then when I was nine, I made my first and only clay pot in Girl Scouts, but no one was impressed. Years later in graduate school, I wrote my master’s thesis on ‘The Historical Uses of Mud and Clay in Healing.’ Now as a potter, clay nourishes a primal part of me. People say I have a gift for glazing. However, listening to the spirit in clay is something I learned while living in the Arctic with the Inupiat-Inuit. I apply intuitive listening to ceramics and create sailboat tiles and pottery that are both useful and beautiful."
For more information call the library at 541 269-1101 or Shinan at 541 888-0114, email shinan underscore barclay at yahoo dot com.
Shinan Barclay @ Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/shinan.barclay
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