introducing... Mariko Paterson
so for the next week or so we'll be blogging about our core member group. we asked them all some very serious/silly questions just to let you get a sense of who or what we're dealing with here. today we're starting with mariko!
Where do you currently live?
Halifax, NS
Tell us the best thing about that city.
Halifax is an ollllld city full of salt of the earth people that speak their mind and live life loud and large. And the restaurant Edna... Best Brunch ever.
If you didn’t live there you’d love to live…..
Oh…I’d love to live in New York again, and believe it or not, Calgary. In addition to ceramics I love (and miss) rollerblading very much. A gentler climate would be most welcoming. That all said so long as I have a studio, a post office and the Internet I can make it work pretty much anywhere.
Out side of ceramic art what other types of art/design/fashion etc are you drawn to and does it influence your work?
Well, I am looking at the web of inspiration that comprises my Pinterest page and there isn’t much that I am not inspired by at least visually. Illustration and graphic design seem to my most heavily weighted pages, but I can be convinced to go down any ol’ rabbit hole for a few hours at a time. I respond to a lot of colour, jarring design and I am always looking for different perspectives on overlapping subjects and themes. I don’t really care what the “art” piece I am looking at is made out of , but rather I like to look for those little pearls of visual wisdom and wonder that can be extracted, spun and then fused into my own works. Sometimes, it is literally the characteristic of a line that draws my eye in or the way one colour slams against another with force and energy. I like uneasy relationships within shapes and forms. I like uneasy messages. I like seemingly messy and distressful composition that somehow comes together to pack a power punch of a message.
If you couldn’t be an artist next best job would be:
Professional dog petter…and rollerblader.
What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve done in the name of art?
Stolen plates out of the buffet line whilst at a residency at the Banff Centre, then glazed them, then put them back in the stack and then watched other people steal them.
No cheating what’s the book beside your bed?
Moments of Clarity by Christopher Kennedy Lawford.
If you could exhibit your work alongside any artist, alive or dead who would you want to show with?
The illustrator Maira Kalman
Name someone everyone should follow on Instagram:
The Jealous Curator @thejealouscurator
Best tip you’ve ever been given on how to be an artist
Expect the unexpected and whenever possible, be the unexpected.
Favorite thing to listen to in the studio: NPR hands down…and any podcast put on by WNYC
Creative blocks? How do you fix them
I am a workaholic so I tend to change gears many times during the day from throwing, handbuilding, drawing, decorating and glazing. It’s like doing a studio Jitterbug Dance. Very rarely do I have a problem with creative blockage as I suffer from creative diarrhea.
Do you have a super power? If yes what? If no what super power would you choose?
I have no super powers that I am aware of, but I would like to be a Super Chef one day because I am a Super Eater.
One goal, art related or otherwise, that you want to accomplish before you die?
You know, I am pretty darn content right now. Maybe a few more hours in the day.
Find out more about Mariko on her profile page.