Located in the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center, “Clay, Form, Paint and Texture” is a gallery that shows works of art from the painter Tamar Kander and the sculptor Jamas Brooke. The gallery show includes ceramics and mixed media paintings.
Every piece of artwork is inspired, and what inspires Brooke the most when creating his artwork is that it is a way for him to be creative without having to make any conscientious decisions.
(Photo by Khiry Clark)
“I love ceramics the most because with pinching, I am able to lose my own identity,” he said. “I am more so a participant in the process. It’s as if the piece is created through me, because I don’t make any decisions.”
The art of ceramics is something that consists of heating organic nonmetallic solid, followed by shaping and ending with cooling the solid. Brooke also specializes in the Raku method of firing, in which the pots are removed from the kiln at their maximum temperature. Raku glasses are often fractured as the firing process gives the cracks of the pot a glaze. In the gallery show there are a few pieces of Raku-fired pieces created by Brooke, such as the Raku Pitcher and the Alter Platter.
“Landscape is really the main method to my creativity,” he said. “If there is strong color, it will creep into my work.”
Tamar Kander, who also is Brooke’s wife, is a painter who is best known for her mixed media paintings. A mixed media painting combines different types of paint and drawing materials and methods, rather than only having just one medium.
Her mixed media paintings are showcased in museums and corporate offices both in North and South America, as well as Europe. Her mixed media painting entitled “Detour Ahead”
tells a story and gives an example of what inspires her.
“At this time of the year, I use a lot of white, neutrals and blues, because that is what I see outside,” she said. “I created this piece in January, and I used cold whites and added red for warmth and fire.”
The “Clay, Form, Paint and Texture” gallery show will be held until March 14.
