"My work is about the human mind making a connection to wildlife."
Catherine Shinnick
taught Ceramics at the Parsons Center in Lake Ann for Eastern Michigan University and continues to teach on Bois Blanc Island.
She graduated from the Cranbrook School and studied at the U. of Michigan. She studied stone carving with Minaru Nizuma at Columbia University. She has a BFA from the RI School of Design, and a MFA from E Michigan University. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She is available for commissions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TO CONTACT: Galleries or through regular mail: HCR1 Box 315, Bois Blanc Island, MI 49775. Phone in summer: 231.634.7376 MCShinnick at gmail dot com. ~~~~ NOTE: No email or computer access during summer months.
My work is about the human mind making a connection to wildlife. In my work the horse is a metaphor for the subconscious mind and its passion and intuition. In the depths of our subconscious, where myth and reality coincide, we are all connected.
Living as I do on a small island where nature rules creates a need to align myself with the elements. In my sculpture I am portraying an alignment to the elements and to elemental forces. Clay itself is an elemental force. It is earth and water that brings our relationship to nature directly to our fingertips. It harbors the winds of inspiration, and it is reborn through the fires of the kiln. Ceramics create a strong sense of connection to nature for me.
I would like my sculpture to have life, to excite the space around it, and to give joy. The joy for me, and what I communicate, is the connection between the subconscious mind and the world of nature. Most of us long for connection, and we find ourselves on a quest to reestablish our closeness to nature.
I began to explore the horse as a subject in 1996 while working towards my MFA in Ceramics from Eastern Michigan University. The horse embodies verve and fire, his movements are light as air, he is a powerful ally of the earth and earthbound, and he permeates the waters of our subconscious mind. Long a bridge between the mundane and the divine, the horse has energized and liberated the cultures of mankind since ancient history. The horse has become the symbol of my passionate devotion to the creative process.
For 30 years I have carved stone, and the experience influences greatly my work with clay. When I carve stone, the dust produced obscures the piece and instinct and the ability to visualize becomes my guides. When I look at stone, I see form rising to the surface from within. The trick is to recognize, actually intuit, when the chisel has made contact with the surface of that form. I am visualizing the positive.
In clay I also work from the inside out because the internal structure is clay. This armature is in the form of slabs and the outer edge of these slabs describes the surface of the piece. Once the armature is in place, it is wrapped with thinner slabs that act as skin. The power to visualize instructs me to actualize.
The fun of clay in portraying the horse is using layers and negative space to invite the viewer to look closer and within. I am interested in texture and in allowing the clay and glaze to express their own language. I like to make the image float, an echo of my memories of the thrilling sensation of riding.
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