“ Redwood Drift ” ( 1996 )
66 ” x 45.5 ” Watercolor on paper
I like to address things from the edge , with a softer approach . Sometimes you must look at a piece twice before you see something strange .
“ Look Ma , No Hands ” ( 2011 )
48 ” x 22 ” x 17 ” Low-fire clay ,
Underglaze , Glaze , Steel
Photo Credit : Rob Vinnedge uses it to imply light and shadow as well as to tell the story in a collection .
Patti has never shied away from scaling either . As I mentioned earlier , her original fascination with clay was learning how to control it . Once she mastered her medium , she began to push the boundaries and attempt to defy gravity in her work . She has , in her past , worked with miniature figures and tackled larger-than-life pieces . Scale excites her and keeps her interested . “ That ’ s one of the reasons I seem to keep working ,” she confesses , “ I ’ m still curious .”
When discussing the use of female form in most of her work — after all , “ I know the female form best ,” says Patti — we touched on the feminist narrative of her kiln series . Patti did submit that “ It was a real man ’ s world . Building kilns was very manual work , mixing clay , hauling fifty-pound bags of clay around — it was a very macho period . “ No one thought I would be capable of the physical demands of working with clay , especially in the larger pieces .” Historically , it was a transitional period , as well . “ Women were just starting to get accepted into public work . So , yes , during that time , that kiln series , was very resentful . ” She goes on , “ It was presented a bit tongue-in-cheek , but also during that time of male dominance , I recall thinking , hell with this , I ’ m going to make a kiln my way .” Thus , the absurd and creatively resentful kiln series was born . Being a woman herself and having lived through periods of challenge or lack of recognition of women ’ s abilities and talents , Patti states that her fight for “ equality ” was never overtly feminist . It just so happened that her belief that “ women are awesome ” found its way subliminally to her work , with occasional intentional messages built in .
“ I don ’ t approach my work with a narrative that I want to force on the viewer usually ,” says Patti . “ Every person is going to have their own interpretation based on their own experiences . I usually don ’ t like to come at things too brutally . I like to address things from the edge , with a softer approach . Sometimes you must look at a piece twice before you see something strange .” Strange is admittedly Patti ’ s bailiwick . “ I like the absurd . If things feel too calm , I ask myself why not ?” Why not have a teapot that has a teacup on a woman ’ s head as the lid and her overly long tongue as the spout ? That childlike inner rebel finds its way out in those moments .
76 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE