This May we have a group show featuring three synergistic artists: Sarai Raven Huber, Margaret Kinkeade, and Ruth Loveland. The show is called “Rock, Paper, Scissors” and opens May 10th during 2nd Friday Art Walk. The event runs from 6 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at 325 E. Main St. and is open to the public. To give each artist the opportunity to talk about their work and the show, we have decided to break their profiles into three parts.

-Helen Grant

Artist Statement: My work focuses on the domestic object as souvenir, the collection as identity and community connection through shared work. My research often focuses on American folk art and traditional craft especially those objects and methods historically utilized by women.

Q&A

Q. What is your background?

A. I grew up outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma and graduated with my BFA in Printmaking in 2010 from the University of Oklahoma. I then switched my material from paper to clay and completed my MFA at Penn State in 2014. I relocated to Kansas City, Missouri in 2014 and have spent the past 5 years teaching ceramics and maintaining an active practice from my home studio.

Q. Where do you draw inspiration from?

A. I'm interested in shared work, trans-generational knowledge, and domestic crafts especially those objects and tools relating, historically, to the woman's experience. My patterns enter into conversation with the American quilt tradition and speak of the passing of time, expressions of love through work, and the strength of connection when disparate materials/ideas/people are joined together.

Q. What are you working on right now that excites you?

A. Lately, my studio practice has fractured into three sections: functional work, tile work and plate installations with the latter not seeing as much "work table" time. Now that the semester has ended, I am looking forward to returning to several large plate installations that have been placed on the back burner for the last few months. I am also excited to play in the studio this summer, working to develop new forms and exploring alternate ways of translating marks onto clay.

Q. What is your show at Resonator about?

A. Our show, Rock, Paper, Scissors, includes three artists who each work meditatively and intuitively as they explore the formal relationships of line, pattern, and texture within their work. Each artist, working with a limited palette, has created wall works that call for the viewer to engage, reflect and consider how these formal elements coalesce binding the makers to their work and to each other. The exhibition title references our chosen materials/tools, which are quite domestic and ubiquitous, and brings to mind a sense of child-like play which we all try to embrace throughout the making process.

Q. What are you favorite books, movies, or music you’re into right now?

A. As a seasonal creature, Yo La Tengo's been playing a lot in the studio lately. Their music is the perfect springtime soundtrack for car trips, walks, and necessary podcast breaks.

Q. Do you have any art events or exhibitions you’re really excited about this year?

A. The plate installations I'm working on this summer will get a little wall time in Concord, Massachusetts at the Lacoste-Keane Gallery this August. My studio space is a converted sleeping porch which while it has lots of wonderful sunshine leaves much to be desired when it comes to space; so, when I'm working on a 50+ plate installation I often don't see it come together until the gallery-goers "install it through use" on the opening night. My heart is always filled when people hold and use my work, especially in the context of the gallery space, and I'm excited to see another quilt arrangement come together.

Q. Is there anything I haven’t asked that you would like readers to know about?

A. I don't think so! I'm really excited to be back in Norman, showing with two amazing mothers whose work I admire, and am honored to be welcomed into a space that has been nurtured by Curtis Jones. Curtis was not only my advisor but also my ally and friend during my time in the OU printmaking program.