Visiting an Artist

Sandra and I headed up Commerce for the lunch on High since the brewery was closed. We stopped a few times and I snapped some images. Taking a picture of a storefront row, we decided to stop in one of the galleries. Once a mining town, Mineral Point is now home to a blend of artists. In particular, the woman at the Chamber of Commerce mentioned Bruce Howdle, a ceramics scupltor, who is noted in the Midwest for having created a mural around a corner of horses racing at a Sportsman's Park in the Chicago area.



Gallery Front

As we walked across the street, Bruce Howdle was actually sweeping the sidewalk and welcomed us inside. Unlike many of the galleries in town on Monday in March, his gallery was open for business. He was working on some pieces downstairs, and his reasoning was that he was going to be in the shop working, the place might as well be open.

I was glad that his gallery was open. He spent over an hour conversing with us about the town. Having arrived in 1976, Bruce Howdle is a longtime resident of Mineral Point, so he knows quite a bit about the area. He also talked about his work space and his art. In some ways, this just might simply how Mineral Point is: that people need to get along and say hello. But Bruce did more; he devoted his time to us. First, he gave a short tour of the upper part of the gallery which displays pieces for sale and many sketches and images of his larger commisioned works. Also showcased were paintings by by his wife.

Without using flash, I took a quick take of his back gallery:



Many Forms

He then led us downstairs to his work space, where he showed us his easles for larger scale works. He apologized for the mess, because all over the place, there was pieces in various stages of development. Occupying a large part of the central area was a collection of mugs with dog faces which he was readying to glaze. This behind-the-scenes look at a working artist intrigued both Sandra and I, especially since he didn't have to do it.

Afterwards, he brought us back upstairs and showed us his work area for large scale projects. To put in perspective, the size of some of his art. He has actually completed a 52 foot relief mural which required 9+ tons of clay.

One of the most notable aspects of Bruce's work is how it occupies space, rising three-dimensionally from its form. This holds true from smaller works like his dog and pig faced mugs to his larger relief murals. If you click Jockeys and Horses, you'll see a good example of what I mean.

Bruce also led us ouside to on the back stairs and gave us a view of his back yard. A large kiln dominates and then several art pieces decorate the grassy areas. Some of these pieces were created by his students, whom he has taught throughout the years. I took a couple of images of works that were perched on the stairs.



Crow


Owl

If you want to know more about Bruce Howdle and his work, please visit his web site. Also if you're planning a trip to Mineral point, check if he'll be in town because sometimes commissions demand that he work on site away his studio.