Art exhibition showcases ceramics
The explosion in Belizean arts continues tonight with the opening of an unusual show at the Image Factory. Janelle Chanona stopped by for a preview.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
These ceramic pieces vary drastically from one to other but all of them represent a year of hard work by thirty students at the Belize Centre for Art Education and Cultural Understanding.
Yasser Musa, Image Factory
“I think students bring a certain energy to art that older artists have far more calculating ideas. But with students you don’t know what to expect, so I think that’s a good place to start.”
“It’s the first time it has been done collectively in an educational setting, and as part of an-what I would call an art agenda. Definitely, the Image Factory has been very, I would say instrumental in trying to push this kind of art, because it’s always seen as, oh it’s just crafty and it’s not fine art so to speak. But if you look at them carefully, you will realise, just like painting or sculpting or print making or any of those other art disciplines, ceramics is a huge area where our young people and our artists can get involved and make things the way they want to express.”
While this type of art isn’t new to the Belizean culture scene, the effects achieved by the artists were made possible by some very hot machines.
Yasser Musa
“What makes them look beautiful in terms of the colour and the shininess is that they were properly glazed and properly fired. We have a gas kiln, as well as an electric kiln. Some of the works you see are fired using like an oven and it’s heated by gas and the temperatures go up to maybe two thousand to two thousand, four hundred degrees. And others are heated or baked so to speak, in an electric kiln, so different techniques are employed.”
One young artist says her technique is just to go with the clay.
Janelle Chanona
“Where do you get inspiration for something like this?”
Sarah Estephan
“It kind of comes from playing around with the shapes and finding a pleasing way to combine them. this one was actually a surprise. This pot, I was not expecting it to come out as good as it did, but I’m really pleased with it.”
“I tried planning out my pieces, but usually as I go along an inspiration will come along. Even sometimes, some pots come out from accidents and then you manipulate it a little bit and mould it into something that’s beautiful.”
Reporting for News 5, I am Janelle Chanona.
The exhibit is free and open to the public. An official launch is planned for tonight and everyone is invited, especially parents of the student artists.
