My name is Gayla Lemke. I have been a working artist in the Denver area for many years. I teach ceramic sculpture and hand building at the Art Students League in Denver and I am a long time member of Edge Gallery in Lakewood.
The piece in this show is titled “Oh Monday, Monday, how could you leave….?” It was part of a series that I did for a show called “The Beat Goes On” in 2019. The over all body of work was quite colorful and the titles were all taken from tunes of the 1960’s. “Monday” was the only piece that was not finished in bright colors but finished in gray and black. I was working on this piece when I got the news of the unexpected death of a very dear friend. The piece was not meant to be a sad piece though…it became more of a piece to honor her…to honor her focus on art and the inspiration that she left with all those who knew her. It was quite introspective for me which led to the subdued color. I feel like it has a certain elegance and richness about it because of this.
The clay portion of “Monday” was hand built from stoneware clay, finished with black mason stain and underglaze, and fired to cone 6 in an electric kiln. The individual ceramic elements stack on a rod that has been drilled into a pine log.
Here’s to you, Marie! And here’s to making art!