Wildlife Fine Art Sculpture of M C Shinnick: sculptor

Showing posts with label sculptor. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 30

Studio on Bois Blanc Island

Studio on Bois Blanc Island back in action
as I will be carving stone there
as soon as I adjust to the cooler temperature.
It doesn't take me long as I revert to my Spartan self very quickly
in the process of running the fires.

I was going up tomorrow but I have
too much to do here while I get the chance.
Tom says he's glad to have me on the premises.

Firing a second time on Friday as well as
presenting nine sculptures to the dealers in
Glen Arbor (Synchronicity Gallery)
and of course it's nice to have running water.

Looks like the weather is coming around next week
and my buddy says he wants to help so we'll see.

Love, M C Shinnick

Sunday, April 27

Mr. Fox Goes to Town

18" x 8" x 12" Ceramic

Tuesday, March 11

The Stone Dreamer


Title	Stone Dreamer, The: Catherine Shinnick (25818)
Physical	Color; Sound; 14 minutes
Copyrighted	1990
Distributor	INSEL HOUSE PRODUCTIONS (INSEL)
Producer	INSEL HOUSE PRODUCTIONS (INSEL)
Audience	High School, College (SCA)
Subj rating	General
Synopsis	Documentary on stone sculptor Catherine Shinnick, who lives year-round on Bois Blanc Island in the Straits of Mackinac, Michigan. She discusses her work and its attunement to her close relationship with nature and seasonal cycles on the island.
Subjects	Artists; Michigan; Sculpture; Women Artists
Holdings	Videotape 1/2" VHS (NTSC): Fourth Street, 1 copy, Rent $0.00

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For further information, contact us at fvl.office@umich.edu, phone (734) 764-5360 or fax (734) 764-7087.

Tuesday, February 12

Horse on Wheels

18" x 18" x 10" Ceramic

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: Regular mail: HCR1 Box 315, Bois Blanc Island, MI 49775.
Phone: winter 2013: 231-634-7097

Spring & Summer::231.634.7376
Email: candybarrartist at gmail dot com. ~~~~

Artist's Statement

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.

Wildlife Fine Art Sculpture of M C Shinnick