Posts Tagged ‘ceramics’

thrift store kitsch

Posted: May 12, 2026 in stores
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Kitsch.  Such a great word.  From the Merriam-Webster dictionary: ” kitsch, the various bits and bobs of popular culture—fuzzy dice, plastic flamingos, cartoon-themed plastic lunchboxes, etc.—that enjoy widespread popularity but don’t hold much cultural esteem.”

And where is a great place to find fine examples of these bits and bobs?  A thrift store.  Maybe you’ll recognize one or two of them!

below: A snail on a bare baby fairy bum and bears playing accordions, oh the things that people will collect!  The bears are from Cherished Teddies which were very big in the 1990s.  There were a vast number of them for all occasions, all seasons, and all ages.

collection of figurines for sale in a thrift store

below: Can you read this little piggy’s expression?  I am afraid that is confuses me, …but the coffee cups are nice.  I made a small mistake and googled this image – to my horror, you can get a 12 piece pig/piglet set with the pigs in different “cute” poses, of which this is one, for about Cdn $80 on Ebay.   Google it as your peril!

small plastic pink pig wearing denim short overalls

below: This one almost came home with me!  The glass that is, not the frog.   Sorry Mr. Frog.

wine glass with words on it, i'd rather be a mermaid

below: More confusion – she’s kinda cute in a kitschy kind of way.  The little person at her feet though – is this a mother and child?  Or is this an angel watching over a child?  Mother Nature dressed in lavender and feathers?

figurine for sale in a thrift store

below: Wise advice, especially if it comes with glittery pink cowboy boots!

keep calm and buy shoes poster on the wall of a store

below: He’s not listening; he’s not taking good advice…. he needs to buy some shoes….

yellow rubber chicken with wide open screaming mouth, on a shelf beside a stack of papers where the top one has the word nervous written in large letters

below:  Another anthropomorphic  animal…. a long eared rabbit this time. She’s wearing a hat and a dress and very blue footwear.  She’s also wearing a surprised expression that makes you wonder what the goose said or did.

Anthropomorphic rabbit wearing straw hat and blue dress, figurine for sale in thrift store

below:  I’ve got one hand in my pocket and the other’s carrying something blue….

resin figure, girl wearing rust coloured overalls, one hand in her pocket

figurine for sale in throft shape, lady in long pink skirt is on a swing, man approaches but has hands up in the air

below: A smart purchase! A steal at $3.99

black t shirt with words, Nothing artificial about this intelligence

below: All that Mardi wanted was to be gras…..

red baseball cap for sale in a thrift store, with words that say make mardi gras again

below: Maybe it’s the hair?  ….  but I suspect that no one is going to mistake me for Wonder Woman!

wonder woman poster in a thrift store

below: Not really kitsch, but that’s a lot of weird looking bikini undies!

lots of bikini underwear for sale in a thrift store

square mirror on a wall in a thrift store

Have fun!  And maybe find a bargain or two while you’re at it!

Elaborate and more

Posted: November 17, 2024 in galleries
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The previous blog post featured a wall that was covered with ceramic tiles that created an image of a Tree of Life –  It is part of “Elaborate”, a group exhibition, at Harbourfront Centre’ s Gallery 235.   This blog post takes a look at some of the other art in that exhibit as well as a few more ceramic art pieces that can be seen in display in cases in the halls of the Harbourfront building.

First, in the hall, Joon Hee Kim’s wonderful busts of fanciful whimsical characters.

ceramic busts by Joon Hee Kim on display on blue and white checked background, three characters, all female, with orange hair,

ceramic busts by Joon Hee Kim on display on blue and white checked background, female, with orange hair, yeloow flowers in hair, and big rimmed glasses that match hair

ceramic busts by Joon Hee Kim on display on blue and white checked background, three characters, all female, with orange hair,

Also in the hallway, round pieces by Jess Riva Cooper where flowers bloom from mouths, noses, and ears of the central subject(s) swirling to form wreaths around them.  The series is titled “Pullulate”

below: “Helleborus viridis” 2024, 45 cm in diameter

round ceramic art, by jess riva cooper, on wall, white plaster face in center, with tulips growing from her face, the flowers make a wreath around her face

below: Some of pieces have hands in the central position, hands that rip the flowers from the ground and/or tear them apart.

round ceramic art, by jess riva cooper, on wall, white plaster pair of hands on watery blue in center, with with flowers making a wreath around the hands

below: Large droopy flowers in weird colour combinations on a table, sculptures by Julie Moon,

in an art gallery, on a table are some large ceramic droopy looking flowers, in the background is a group of people looking at another table with more ceramics on display

below: On the table in the background in the above photo are little sculptures by Lindsay Montgomery.  This is a close up of one of them.  Maybe someone spilled its cup of tea?

part of a sculpture by Lindsay Montgomery, a male character crawling towards a blue and white teapot sitting on the ground, a matching tea cup is lying on its side

Montgomery’s work is in two sections.  The above figurine is a newer piece from the series “Despairware” “which references books of demonology and iconographies of feral femininity with Staffordshire figurines from the 19th century” (from the words on the wall at the gallery).  She is also showing some of her older work here, a series called “Neo Istoriato” which re-imagines paintings  and pottery from the Renaissance.  Two examples:

double handled vase or urn, pottery, painted with many macabre figures, by Lindsay Montgomery, in an art gallery

All together in a big pot in the fiery mouth of Hell while the demons dance with glee.

close up of a painting on the side of a pottery vessel, many people inside mouth of a red cat-like creature, with frog head on top, many eyes, little demon figures play beside red head

below: Kaley Flowers, cracked and broken glass to mimic water within a frame of ceramic shells, rocks and marine forms.

small ceramic artwork hanging on a wall, center is spiral of broken glass, outer layer is shells and rocks but made of ceramics

below: Marissa Alexander, eight women hanging on the wall.  Hung up, hanging about, hanging out….

small figurine of people in different positions, hanging on a wall

And last, there are a few individual tiles by Marc Egan that are very similar to the flowers and leaves in his Tree of Life.

2 ceramic tiles mounted on a wall, in an art gallery, floral pictures

food, food, glorious food

Posted: November 25, 2015 in galleries
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 Food is an important part of our lives and there is a lot that we take for granted about the food we eat. Food, and all that accompanies it, is the theme of a collection of art exhibits at Harbourfront’s Artport.   On display is work by a number of artists who have been examining different food related issues.   How we see food, it’s role in our lives, how healthy is it,  it’s production, and how we obtain it, are just a few of the questions that are explored.   We eat food but what about the parts we usually waste?

Below is a sample of what is on offer.

below: ‘Wearable Food – Hat’, 2014, by Sooyeong Lee, part of a series of photographs that displays food in atypical and unexpected ways.   An acorn squash fascinator is precariously perched on her head.

A picture of a photo of an Asian woman with her hair in a braid, a stern expression on her face, and the top of an acorn squash on her head in place of a hat

below: ‘Frugivore Project’, 2011-ongoing, by Amanda White, an attempt to communicate biologically with tomato plants.  White bought tomatoes from the grocery store and ate them.   She harvested the seeds after they had passed through her digestive system and then planted them.  After the plants bear fruit, it is eaten and the cycle continues.

Two pictures of one art installation. On a small door is a picture of a woman eating a tomato and with a pile of tomatos in front of her. Open the door and it reveals a small space with a tomato plant growing there.

 

below: ‘Foraged Palette’, 2015, Thea Haines, made with wool, silk, linen, hemp and cotton with natural dyes.   The dyes are made from food waste such as carrot peels, onion skins, pomegranate skins and avocado pits.

A pattern of hand dyed, hand cut leaves in varying shades of yellows oranges and browns is displayed on a wall

close up of A pattern of hand dyed, hand cut leaves in varying shades of yellows oranges and browns is displayed on a wall

below:‘Strain to Absorb, 2015, by Lisa Myers, three digital files running simultaneously. Blueberries contain the pigment anthocyanin which the artist produces from strained fruit.

Three video screens displayed horizontally on a wall.

below:‘Accidental Hunter’, 2014, by Erin Riley, hunting with a rifle received as a gift from her father and taking pictures of the event.

A picture of a large photograph of people in orange vests and hats as they set out with their rifles on a hunting trip. To the right is part of a picture of dead geese but only part of it is visible

below: ‘Delicate merchandise!”, 2014, by Lynn Price, oil on paper.  The title comes from a poem called ‘Ode to a Lemon’ by Pablo Neruda (see bottom of post)

A grid of 16 black and white paintings of three lemons in a bowl , on an art gallery wall

below:Functional Ceramic Tableware, 2005-2015, by Bruce Cochrane

Two intricately designed ceramic containers on a table in front of a series of pictures of lemons in a bowl

Two artistic ceramic pieces by Bruce Cochrane on a small shalef

below: Trading Places, Victoria Piersig.  A series of photographs from a journey spent onboard a ship transporting wheat from Thunder Bay to Montreal.

close up of part of a very large black and white photograph of a man standing on the deck of a lake freighter at night in the winter

Two photographs of parts of a ship mounted on a wall that is covered with a large black and white photo

below: cookie cutter rings and brooches, by Andree Wejsmann

six little rings and broaches made to look like cookie cutters, a shovel, a squirrel, a rabbit, a heart, a duck and a snail.

below: Teerex and Triceratops Corn Cob holders, 2012, by Lana Filippone

sculptures of cobs of corn, three, each with dinosaur corn cob holders.

***

‘Ode to a Lemon’ by Pablo Neruda

Out of lemon flowers
loosed
on the moonlight, love’s
lashed and insatiable
essences,
sodden with fragrance,
the lemon tree’s yellow
emerges,
the lemons
move down
from the tree’s planetarium
Delicate merchandise!
The harbors are big with it –
bazaars
for the light and the
barbarous gold.