theinterview
KIMBERLY BROCK/STAFF
AHaven for Her R Creative Soul
Artist Ann Ginkel is part of Roswell’s Clay Collective.
By KIMBERLY BROCK
Artist Ann Ginkel finds a sanctuary for potters in the Roswell Visual Arts Center West
6 | northsidewoman.com | december2014
oswell resident Ann Ginkel had no experience in throwing or carving clay several years ago when, at a friend’s suggestion, she first came to the Roswell Visual Arts Center West. After selling her business, an enchanting children’s bookstore called Hobbit Hall, she felt the need to try something new. From her first visit, the Roswell Clay Collective became her art school and her sanctuary. “I had an interest in art and expression, a compulsion, I guess,” Ginkel said. “I appreciate design. Here, I learned to appreciate aesthetic as a way to communicate a feeling that comes from inside and how that may connect others through the experience of a piece of art. “That’s what this place is all about, what it’s built on,” she said. “The rooms are filled with an eclectic group, all coming here with different interests, from different walks of life. But everyone is welcome and welcoming. Each artist has their own story and their own space to create. It’s inspiring. It’s such a kind and open environment.” The term artist is a complicated one for Ginkel. When asked how she refers to herself, she laughs. “I guess I’d call myself lucky,” she said. “Technically, I suppose I’m a potter. I work in porcelain. I throw clay on a wheel and then I hand-carve.” She begins by altering the clay by hand-carving while it’s soft, then fires the pieces to the bisque stage. After the clay cools, glaze is applied and they are then fired a second time at a higher temperature. She makes aesthetic choices at each of these stages, with some of her pieces going into a salt or gas kiln depending on the effect she desires. The effect is nothing short of magical and elegant. There is the essence of her femininity in her work and a sense of the mysterious. Perhaps the story in her clay speaks to Ginkel’s appreciation for the role of art in every woman’s life and her belief that it should be guarded. “Women today work very hard to be successful in their careers and as mothers,” she said. “It can be hard to carve out time for themselves, just to absorb what’s around them, their friendships, their children and spouses, nature. “They need to take that time,” she said. “They need to appreciate the wonder of being alive. The Roswell studio became that kind of haven for me, and it provides that for many other artists. I encourage women to seek that out.” Ginkel is currently preparing for an art show this month at the studio featuring handmade ceramic artworks for sale, created by members of Roswell’s Clay Collective. Her eyes shine as she talks about each piece, describing them as mostly decorative, but also functional. She defines her work as a visual fugue.
Works in Clay Holiday Show and Sale
Dec. 4-Dec. 7. Shop for handmade pottery created by more than 40 members of Roswell's Clay Collective. Ceramic works in functional, sculptural, and whimsical forms will be available and make great gifts. Hours: Thurs. 7-9pm, Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-5, Sun. noon-5. Art Center West is located at 1355 Woodstock Rd., Roswell. More info at: www. RoswellClayCollective.com.
“I’m inspired by line and form. I’m interested in where the eye goes, patterns that intertwine. I love movement, nothing static,” she said. Certainly no stranger to movement, Ginkel has done her share. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in social science from St. Joseph’s College and a master’s degree in technical writing from the Southern College of Technology, the New York native ventured abroad to England where she received her master’s in education from Warrick University before returning to the States to settle outside of Atlanta. Driven by her early love of expression, she taught literature in a multi-age classroom of upper elementary grade students, writing plays with her students as a way of inspiring young minds to explore and invent. It’s no surprise then, that Ginkel went on to write and publish her own children’s book, “I’ve Got an Elephant,” a story inspired by one of her daughter’s stuffed animals. “I really think motherhood is the most important work I’ll have done,” she said. Now a grandmother, Ginkel is happily married to her engineer husband for more than 40 years. Her two children are grown, married and successful in occupations that promote justice and social consciousness. She attributes their world view and civic mindedness to what she calls, “the freedom to think.” “Art is present everywhere,” she said. “It’s connected to the imagination and demands freedom to think, to create and to experiment. Art is what teaches us how to escape rigidity, to draw our own conclusions, to imagine original outcomes, to inference meaning. Art gives us the perspective of possibility.” To learn more about the Roswell Visual Arts Center West, visit their website at http://www. roswellclaycollective.com/index.html or find them on Facebook at Clay West Artists. ■