I’m not a huge Valentines person, but it seems like a fitting day to share an image of the letters that have been part of my work for a while now. These are the love letters that my paternal grandparents sent to each other while they were courting. Lewis was a widower with two young children, Edith a social worker, who at 33 would have been considered an “old maid”. She lived in Montreal, he in Toronto—a pretty great distance in those days, and letters were their only way of communicating. I’ve always been fascinated by letters and handwriting—it is such a personal way of leaving your mark and telling your story—a way to connect your thoughts to the physical world and share them with others. I’ve been thinking lately about the similarities between letters and pots. They are both objects ripe with ideas and hopes, which we put out into the world with the faith that someone will pick them up and respond in some way. A parallel conversation that happens between people across distance and time—thoughts and questions made real. .
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There are many sweet moments in these letters, but mostly they are full of lovely mundane things—a description of my grandfather’s workshop, or a discussion of the music my grandmother was listening to—the daily banalities that make up a life and person. I like to think of my pots living in the midst of these same every-day kind of moments: drinking your morning coffee while listening to the CBC, washing the dishes at the end of a long day, sharing a glass of wine with your sweetheart, or yelling at the cat because he deliberately tipped over your favourite tumbler just to watch the splash (true story)... I hope that my pots will bear witness to people’s daily struggles, triumphs, and un-glamorous moments—hopefully bringing a little beauty along with them. .
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These letters and other family ephemera are digitally scanned and then laser cut into newsprint. The newsprint text elements are subsequently used in my decorative process, acting both as a stamp and resist. Using the labour of my hands, I unite these traces of my past with functional objects that celebrate the tangible joy of the every day.
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#loveletters #valentines #ephemera
