Micro-Residency
With Marney McDiarmid and Special Guest Diane Black
Photo by Rob Whelan
Marney McDiarmid participated in a micro-residency hosted by the Tri-Art Gallery within the Art Noise store location. Marney was available to discuss her process and findings. It was an opportunity to meet the artist while she was working on her pieces. Marney creates one-of-a-kind ceramic works of art. During her time she used curated Tri-Art products in an explorative materials venture to evaluate their adaptability for her creative process as a ceramic artist.
Diane Black, a visual artist who specializes in clay works, was her special guest. Together they exchanged ideas and knowledge about their creative processes.
May 8th ‑ 19th, 2023
Marney McDiarmid
Marney McDiarmid is a queer ceramic artist who makes functional and sculptural work. She uses beauty as a tool for engagement, creating lush, sensuous pieces that call up notions of replenishment and explore our relationships to the natural world. Drawing is integral to her process. Her illustrations add decorative elements and narrative content to the work. Marney envisions the slow pace of her practice as running counter to systems of mass production. It is important to her that the pieces she makes convey care and consideration. She has a passion for connecting people to their creativity, to colour, to nature, and each other.
Diane Black
Diane Black is a Kingston artist who began her training in the field of illustration and spent almost 20 years in the commercial art world. She now focuses on her own studio practice which focuses on sculpture. As with her illustration, it is the telling of stories through character development that is central to her figurative work. Diane’s work has been exhibited in Galleries throughout Ontario and can be found in private collections both in Canada and internationally. She has taught drawing, painting and sculpture and has coordinated art workshops which attract participants internationally.
MICRO-RESIDENCY REFLECTION
Marney and Diane’s reflections about the residency experience
When I think of the micro-residency at Art Noise I am taken right back to the spring light coming in the big front window, illuminating Marney’s wonderful selection of mindfully formed ceramic pieces. It was such a joyful, contemplative way to spend some time sharing knowledge. Marney’s process and mine overlap in the sense that we speak the language of clay and do both functional and sculptural work.
We were very excited to explore the possibilities of “cold finishes” or paints as a method of adding subtle colour to already fired pieces. I had been using oil paints for this purpose for a while but had not delved into the idea of using textured acrylic mediums. I love the creative energy that bubbles up when there is an opportunity to share time and ideas with another wonderfully creative person!
Diane’s Reflection
Marney’s Reflection
Marney was presented with questions for reflection
Public Environment
How was it working in the art store, a space open to the public ?
l loved working in the store for several reasons. Working in the store meant that I had access to the materials and to the expertise of the staff. Being in a new environment also helped to frame the experience as an opportunity to challenge old habits through experimentation. The first day I was set up in the back of the store and I quickly realized that although the space was well set up, I needed to be near natural light to feel creative. We moved my workspace to the front window. I quickly realized that working in full view of the public meant that I had the opportunity to engage with passersby. Several people came into the store for the explicit purpose of telling me how much they enjoyed seeing someone create art – that it inspired them to recommit to their own art making. I felt that working in the window added some vitality to the project and helped to insert art making into the streetscape. The only challenge was that the public engagement also meant frequent interruptions.
Material Discovery
What are the possible benefits of using painting materials in your ceramic art pieces?
This new process allows me to start firing my sculptures once instead of twice and to finish them in a more painterly, iterative manner. I’m currently working on a collection of ceramic forms that I can use to further refine this way of decorating clay sculpture. In addition to saving a firing and providing more flexibility, the immediacy of paint is bringing an energy and looseness into my process that I’m very excited about.
How was it to work with another artist?
Working with Diane was fantastic. It created an opportunity for us to share expertise and “talk shop”, thereby breaking down some of the isolation of a solo studio practice and building creative connections. Diane also had familiarity with the Tri-Art product and was able to demonstrate how she uses oils and encaustics in her work.
Artist Collaboration
Overall, did this residency have an impact on your art practice moving forward?
The residency was a game changer. The experience enabled me to answer a bunch of questions I had about using non-glaze materials for finishing ceramics. My plan is to start finishing my sculptural work with oils and encaustic instead of underglazes.
I was teaching this summer at MISSA and introduced my students and another class to using Tri-Art oils to finish non-functional work. The instructor from the other class is now going include this process in his own teaching at a ceramics school in the US.
I am awaiting the confirmation of funding for a mobile installation that will be housed in a shipping container. If the project is approved, I will be using oils and encaustics to finish the pieces that will be included in this work. I am also working on some drawing/sculpture installations that will involve this process.
Personal Impact
What is your “walk away” feeling about the residency?
I feel energized and excited about what is to come. I really appreciated the generosity, knowledge, and support from Rhéni and Connie and from the other staff at Art Noise. I found the “meetings” with Rhéni and Connie to be especially helpful. Although I’m focused on oils right now, I also have in mind to return to some of the mediums and the gesso for sculptural application and also for application on paper
“Your Walk Away Feeling From the Residency”
Overall feeling about the residency?
work post residency
Moments and Works
