Inspired by Tools of the Trade

Carnegie Art Center, Three Rivers, MI, June – August 2010
Artists take their inspiration from a host of sources internal and external, personal and universal,
sacred and profane. . . but one of the many things we have in common is a “connectedness”
with the tools that we use to explore ideas and create our work.

For this exhibition, I asked a group of Kalamazoo area artists to consider their tools in a more conscious way,
to allow their imagination to dwell on the things they use on a daily basis to create their work,
to look at the tools they may take for granted in a new way. . .

Show Statement

Nancy Payne, Installation

My studio is located on an acre of woods in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I have one wheel, two tables as well as a bunch of shelves. I am a daytime worker, and therefore my favorite thing about my studio would have to be the light. I have three tools I don't know what I'd do without – my rolling pin, my trimming tool, and my wheel. If I am not hand building, I use the wheel for every pot I make. While I have ribs and other various tools that I use on each piece, the wheel is my primary tool in the studio; almost everything starts there.