CBC Covid Residencies

On a B.C. island, repetition helps this sculptor deal with her COVID-19 anxiety

Lise Hosein · CBC News · April 1, 2020

(CBC Arts)

In our self-shot video series COVID Residencies, we're checking out how artists are adapting their practices in isolation, whether it's diving into different processes or getting lost in their sketchbooks.

A while back, we brought you the story of ceramic sculptor Susannah Montague. On Bowen Island, B.C., Montague usually makes ornate (and sometimes dark) works, letting barnacles fasten to them when she submerges them in the sea.

Now, though, working in her usual way feels a bit overwhelming as she thinks about the resources available on her island and what to do if her family requires medical assistance. It's an anxiety-inducing series of ruminations, so Montague has shifted her art practice to help her cope with the realities of life during social isolation.

CBC ARTS DOCUMENTARY on MY NEW body of work

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Letting barnacles grow on her work is the key to this sculptor's ethereal creations

For her latest project, Susannah Montague is stepping out of her studio and collaborating with the ocean

Milena Salazar · CBC News · August 22

(CBC Arts)

When Bowen Island, B.C.-based artist Susannah Montague was growing up, her family would travel to Scotland to visit relatives who owned an antique shop. She would spend those summers studying vintage objects like Dresden dolls and blue and white porcelain in the shop — an experience that now deeply informs her intricate ceramic work.

Using these traditional methods but with a contemporary twist, her pieces combine natural and fantastical elements to conjure a whimsical world of cherubs, dolls, butterflies, skulls and animals. "I think my style is influenced by my childhood and watching my children grow up," she says. "It's full of the daydreams that we have as children, and the nightmares of a childhood, captured in the scary and the beauty of these pieces."

Watch The Video:

On Bowen Island, artist Susannah Montague explains why she's been giving her sculptures to the ocean.

For her latest project, Montague is stepping out of her studio and collaborating with the ocean. She's submerging new ceramic pieces in crab traps in the intertidal zone, allowing barnacles to grow on them. Barnacles are small crustaceans that build a "house" around them made of calcium carbonate — which happens to be the most common source of calcium in ceramic glazes. "I was sculpting barnacles in porcelain and I thought, 'Why not let nature do its thing?' I love the thrill of working so hard of making a piece and just surrendering it and leaving it in the ocean for months. It's sort of like opening the kiln. You hold your breath and open it up."

(CBC Arts)

In this video, Susannah Montague talks about the process of letting outside forces step in to her work, and how it's allowed her to let go of her perfectionism and let nature use its own creative power.

You can follow Susannah Montague and her adventures with the ocean here.

(CBC Arts)

(CBC Arts)

"Enjoy the Now" Podcast Interview Off with Danielle Krysa AKA the Jealous Curator

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Earlier this month I got to participate in an "Interview Off" with Danielle Krysa AKA The Jealous Curator. Danielle interviewed me and then I got the opportunity to interview her and learn more about her new book "A Big Important Art Book (Now With Women!)". This event was hosted at Victoria's Club Kwench  and it was a real honour to have been a part of this event. You can listen to the Danielle's Pod Cast entitled of the event entitled "Enjoy The Now" at her Art For Your Ear podcast page. I hope you enjoy it!