salt spring 17

THE LOVER
IF ART REALLY does imitate life, Ann and
Gerry O’Connor have a partnership made
in heaven.
Showtime, the husband and wife team’s joint exhibition, is an
illustration of how opposite forces not only attract, but beautifully
complement and enhance the other.
Ann is a ceramic artist who works with white mid-fired clay. Her
pieces are intricate figures that often contain elements of fantasy and
surrealism. “The clay has a porcelain finish to it,” Ann says of the
finished work. “The advantage of it is that I can do extreme things
with that clay and I don’t have any collapses in the kiln, whereas
porcelain, which uses very soft clay, tends to collapse if you try to
do extreme things. The white clay is sturdier and more forgiving.”
Gerry is a raku sculptor, producing works of abstract naturalism.
Raku is an ancient form of pottery that originated in Asia and was
used in Japan in the 1500s to make items for tea ceremonies.
“The tea ceremony is based on Zen, with the idea of being
associated with nature,” says Gerry. “Instead of having highly
decorative work, the idea is to produce work that looks natural,
rather than somebody imposing a definite idea on something.
So that’s what I do; I follow that idea of emulating nature and
producing work that looks natural rather than artificial.”
Ann and Gerry have been jointly exhibiting their work since 1990.
Ann, who is also a silversmith and jewellery-maker, describes their
individual styles as being “at opposite ends of the poles”. “Gerry’s
work is very spontaneous, but there’s nothing spontaneous about
me I’m afraid,” she says with a hearty laugh.
Gerry describes Ann as a “detail person”.
Although their styles vary greatly, this artistic duo manages to work
together in perfect synchronicity. This could be due, in no small
part, to the fact that they have “never had a squabble in 55 years of
marriage”, according to Gerry. >