Blog by Harlan House RCA
Hi Kids, I wish you could hold this axe handle. It is perfect! OK, it is old and broken, but it is perfect. For most of my life I have railed against the concept of ‘good enough’ or ‘OK’; our watered-down version of ‘perfect’. The old guys who worked in my 1860’s blacksmith and carpenter’s shop would not settle for …
We all know that a painting is Art, really Art. So, I did paintings of my Art and included me in the mix. Art. Really.
Happy Valentine’s Day, A beautiful thing develops in a working artist’s daily life. It is the ability to know when to stop working. Stop. Done. Leave. As you know, My Work, My Way— the book, is on my website. It was done. I left. In it, I quote American baker Claudia Fleming. “You can always do it better. And until you’ve …
The tomato paintings are a late thank you. We had a dear friend who decided to grow tomatoes. She grew about 30 old varieties. 600 plants. Tomato Queen was her moniker. All of her friends got as many plants as they wanted to plant for many years. If any were left over, and there were, they were given to raise …
People have been asking me if I am retired. Nope. Never. This is what my friend Shelagh Rogers had to say about my retirement… So retire. No. Making Art yes, and writing yes. Playing pool yes. For the past two and a half years, I have been working on a book. It is a history of 50 years as a …
Happy New Year! It’s been a while, so let’s get caught up. Our last exhibition in Lonsdale was crazy wonderful. We saw old friends that we hadn’t seen in years. Our first art dealers, Pam and David Haight from the Rubaiyat in Calgary dropped in for a peek! Imagine. I did a lot of work on the old blacksmith shop …
I made a series of Rose House vases for next weekend’s Lonsdale Studio Exhibition. To say I had fun is an understatement. What I had planned and what happened are two paths. We live in interesting times.
It’s our last show in Lonsdale. Details above.
If you can, save us a little time for a visit here in Lonsdale. Our very last Lonsdale Studio Exhibition is on September 30th and October 1st. I will be in touch closer to those dates, so this is a heads up. I have been working…you might like to see the latest and last.
Building the kiln shed took two summers. Hand planed beams, mortice and tendon joinery and no nails until you get to the roof…it’s a nice place to be in. Building my wood fired kiln took a third summer. Taking it down took one day. The first firing was on August 23, 1982. We only reached bisque temperature, so got exactly …
Over the past few weeks, I have been asked many times about the dates of our Lonsdale Studio Exhibition. Usually, it is in May, but this year is special. Our last Studio Exhibition is going to be in October. I just fired the kiln, and will be working on the pieces over the summer…you will see. If you are in …
What a lucky boy I am! Many years ago, Maureen and I were at Larry Davidson’s Lost Horizons nursery near Acton. As we got close to running out of space in our little car, Larry walked over with as many jardinières as he could carry. “Take these off my hands”, he said. He had just retired from being a very …
I seem to need surprises. I planted a spindle tree many years ago because I liked the bark. Then I fell in love with the color of the leaves. Now I find a new admiration for the berries that come later in the year. I picked some of them for our show here last November…put them in a toaster. The …
Maureen and I would like to thank all of you that came out to our Lonsdale Studio Exhibition. It was like old home week! Lovely to see all of you in such fine health. There were certainly some raised eyebrows. Why would anyone want to put a flower in a shoe…and why shoes? When I was a kid, our mother …
Hi again, Thank you for your interest in the retrospective work we shared with you last week. As promised, here are some new pieces – so new they are still warm! I hope you will enjoy seeing them at our Lonsdale Studio Exhibition this coming weekend. We will be open from 11 to 4 on Saturday November 5 and Sunday …
The Koffler Arts Center in Toronto had a 20 year retrospective of my work in 1990, called 20/20 Hind Sight. It was curated by Gloria Hickey. Works came from many collectors, and some came from our house. For some reason when my part of the show came back, I put it in storage. I did the same thing earlier with …
I love the phrase Juvenile Senior. A friend told me that is what he is, because he hired people to put a new roof on his house, even though he could maybe have done it himself. A few years ago he would have for sure. Now is now. I mention Juvenile Senior, because I just read my own history written …
By the time you see my next Studio Exhibition this fall in Lonsdale, I will be nearly 73. It will be the 42nd time we invited you to Lonsdale. Time flies! I have thought about stopping my work in porcelain, and I might. But then, along comes a 5 year old grandchild, and into the mud we go. Quitting is …
Spring in Lonsdale is simply splendid, just like it is anywhere else. I love the lilacs and the stop sign. Most of the locals drive through without stopping, or do a rolling stop. If you do stop they will know you are from away…but by all means do stop, and do look, and do enjoy, and do come back. I …
Spring is like a beautiful Spanish orange. It looks good, it smells great, and as the layers are exposed, the promise of what is inside makes my mind work overtime. We have seen spring arrive in Lonsdale for 43 years, and each time we pinch ourselves to see if it is real. There always is something new to look at. …