Over the weekend I was able to attend a fantastic workshop with one of my favorite artists, Aggie Zed. I discovered Aggie Zed when I was a child. There are vivid memories in my brain of her horse head/human body figures displayed right at my little kid eye level at Arts in the Park. As an older person (still not yet a grown up, never will be) I have been lucky enough to meet and work with Aggie Zed on a professional level. The more I get to know her the more smitten I become.
This workshop was a new experience for everyone involved. It was not a regimented "this is how you make a specific item" sort of workshop it was more of an experience, getting to know Aggie and how she works. It felt like a group went on a studio visit. What is her process? How do these creatures come about? What experiences have shaped her professionally? How many chickens does she have? All the really important information.
There were about eight to ten people in attendance. The workshop took place in the Clay Studio at VMFA's Studio School. Aggie sat at the head of a work table with a tiny little workspace all laid out. She had a simple board covered in canvas with a few tools and a lump of clay scattered about. While delighting us with stories of painting shrimp boats on fire and feeling the need to be sneaky in the creation of horses, she magically pinched & sprigged* a figure to life. People asked questions. Aggie served up answers that had some scribbling down notes, some laughing, and others sitting with gears turning in their heads. She was simply wonderful as always.
I learned about process, came out with a new perspective on scale, and grew a deeper admiration for both Aggie Zed and VMFA Studio School.
Thank you for a really cool and bright afternoon. Aggie Zed, Mary Holland, Steven Glass, and VMFA, you guys are pretty fantastic.
*pinch & sprigging is a new term I took away from this workshop. Thank you to Steven Glass for giving a name to what I like do to clay.
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