june 2,2000 *
m Ê
trian g le ¡9
a
gay
bible?
Hardworking potter Rhoda Fleishman
creates a beautiful life for herself in the country
by
M uffie W hite
paul rudnick’s [jeflrey/in & out]
the m o st fabulous
sto rv ever told
hoda
Fleishman is a
ceramics artist, a teacher,
an avid gardener, keeper of
farm animals, a small-town dweller
and a lesbian. She has transcend
ed the stereotype of the selfish,
isolated and alienated artist. In
fact, the idea of being this way
has probably never occurred to her.
Fleishman’s promotional materials
state that she makes “vibrant art” which “trans-
fonns form and function." Her work is not the
least hit self-conscious— it is quite expressive
and dramatic. She is not one to use minimal
fonn. Yet the work is not completely flamboy
ant. (In my opinion, this is a good thing.) She
creates reflective surfaces that enhance sur
rounding spaces. The pieces hold their own
ground, yet are not intrusive.
The same could he said of Fleishman’s per
sonal life in Brownsville, Ore., a town way off
the beaten highway north of Eugene. In per
haps the most conservative county in the state,
it has a population of 1,400. She and her part
ner moved to the farming community years ago
to live a peaceful, productive existence.
Fleishman grew up on a farm, and she has
gravitated toward a farmer’s way of life
throughout her own. She is the owner of some
40 chickens and 15 goats, plus a few cats and
dogs. In the early morning, she gets up while
most of us are still hours away from waking,
feeds the animals, works in the garden, then
takes care of herself.
From the start, she and her partner didn’t
want to hide their life together, and they invit
ed anyone from the town to come to the farm
for a visit. Fleishman was interested in opening
up her home to her neighbors and wanted
them to feel comfortable. This honesty led to
neighbors’ acceptance of the couple, though
the word lesbians was left unsaid.
Fleishman gives hack to her community by
teaching ceramics classes in her studio, and her
life as an artist is intrinsically tied to her life on
the farm.
Her work is also intrinsically female— she
says, "I would have a hard time making some
thing that is not soft and rounded.”
Yet she claims her forms are not consciously
contrived to he representations of the female
btxly. It just sort of “happens."
Right now, she is working in two media:
porcelain and stoneware clay. Porcelain is a
very delicate, soft material and before it is fired
has the consistency of cream cheese. The
stoneware clay is hard and gritty.
Fleishman describes porcelain as a “seduc
tive, sensual clay." The particles that make up
the material are very tiny— the reason the
material is so smooth. It lends itself well to
smaller forms.
As for the stoneware clay, its grit gives a
structural strength that makes it excellent for
larger forms. Fleishman has made a series of
large threshold vessels that are intended for
outdoor display and will be included in her
next show. Their chemistry is such that they
will, if necessary, survive wet, cold winters.
In both media, Fleishman has achieved syn
thesis of form and function, and her work has
been widely exhibited in galleries, shows and
festivals. Her new show will feature various
vessels in both stoneware and porcelain.
“ I look at a piece and think it looks dead
until it goes outside,” Fleishman says.
How does she feel about having her work
displayed in galleries, which tend to he sterile
and not so alive? Her solution is to bring natur
al elements, such as bamboo, into the gallery,
and she tries to pick galleries that are lit natu
rally.
Ceramics is a technically demanding art,
and Heishman’s degree in chemistry has come
in handy throughout her life.
The glazes applied to forms to
give them color and shine are
very temperamental, so knowl
edge of high-temperature
chemistry is more than helpful.
Her favorite glaze colors are
green and blue, because they
“I would have a
hard time making
something that is
not soft and
rounded.”
reflect the col
ors of the Pacific
Northwest so well.
The glazes show up brilliantly on the
white porcelain pieces, because more
light is reflected.
The clay itself is also subject to
unpredictability once shaped into
forms. The artist does not always
get what she expects out of the kiln,
which is why flexibility and persistence
are keys to success and satisfaction.
Fleishman uses very basic tools to shape her
pieces but favors handwork. A lot of her pieces
are thrown on a pottery wheel, then taken off
for manual alteration.
Her work has a natural freedom— not a
quality that she has achieved effortlessly.
Throughout her career, she has found that
maintaining a separation between herself and
her work allows for heightened expression and
lets her feel unrestrained.
CELEBRATE BEING GAY1
PLAYING NOW! 239-5919
theater! theatre! 3430 SE Belmont St
■ R hoda F leishman ’ s newest show will open
June 17 at the Graystone Gallery, 3 2 7 9 S .E .
Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland. For more informa
tion, call (5 0 3 ) 238-0651.
MUFFIE W hite is a senior studio art major at
Reed College who loves to read subversive art his
tory and criticism. She can be reached at
donna. white@reed. edu.
W^IERE
b E lo N q ?
—Rhoda Fleishm an
^yOOCLUB.COH,