Anita Sinclair. Photo by Sander Roscoe Wolff.
Anita Sinclair is an English-born Long Beach artist who, more than 20 years ago, saw an opportunity to create a valuable cultural and creative community resource using materials that were destined to be discarded. With patience and tenacity, she has helped to develop the Long Beach Community Ceramics Studio at Bixby Park, which operates in partnership with the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Marine. She also teaches oil painting, recently added a new class in sculpture, and is active with youth programs provided by Long Beach Arts, the city’s oldest art institution.
Long Beach Post: What led to the creation of the Long Beach Community Ceramics Studio at Bixby Park?
Anita Sinclair: In the early 1990s, the city was getting ready to auction off some ceramic studio equipment. Before the auction took place, I contacted Parks, Recreation & Marine (PRM) Department and suggested putting it all back together as a ceramics studio for the community.
I had to beg for space, and had to convince them to trust me with a new program. In the beginning, our building designation was Public Restroom Number 24. We were in a storage room between the men’s and the lady’s restrooms at Stearns Park.
After the public restroom building, we moved to the Bixby Stage building. That space was demolished by a tree in 2004. We lost a lot of equipment, so I took my personal stuff to the park so that the program could continue. The city could not replace what was lost. I have been replacing the things ever so gradually.
We then moved into our current space. The park supervisor granted us access to the chess room, more than doubling the classroom space. Now, we are negotiating a closet. I would love to see a big, beautiful studio with a large gas kiln, but a closet would be a major victory! It is a really nice closet!
How did you identify a community need for a studio?
There was not a community-based ceramics studio in the city. Not anywhere. Other cities had them, but not Long Beach. We have had several for-profit spaces over the years, but they tend to be rather pricey. I wanted to create a space through the PRM Department that was accessible, and affordable. As soon as prices start going up, accessibility declines.
Public schools were moving away from arts education. High schools have art programs. Middle schools often do not. Some elementary schools have art enrichment programs, but not all. We are creating generations of people who have not been introduced to art materials, who have never had the opportunities that I had growing up. It is a crucial element that we are missing. Art access at the community level is a pretty good compromise. I do wish that I could do more, though.
Once the PRM Department agreed, and the space was set up, what was the community response?
Community response has always been excellent. I have always had a core group of return clients, and a steady stream of new people. The classes are set up as workshops. That allows the experienced people to come in with ideas, get on their own trajectory, and follow through on their project. Beginners get a basic skills program from me. I teach them the basics of hand building and glazing. Eventually, as skill levels increase, they can move over to the wheel, and take on more complex projects.
At Bixby, since we are an important part of that community, we take on the art lessons for the summer camp kids. Last summer, the kids glazed some tiles. We are going to install those tiles at the park. The location will be determined by the park supervisor. I would like to see them on the concrete picnic tables. I have a plan that includes adding a chess board at each end of the tables. It would be a very sweet little addition to Bixby. The summer camp kids also learned about Easter Island sculptures, and got to sculpt little Easter Island heads.
Sinclair with several of her students. Photo by Sander Roscoe Wolff.
How many students can the studio accommodate?
I can comfortably fit in 25-27 people. My registration numbers reach about 70-75 percent, on average. A number of my people work at home, and bring their works to the kiln. Others enjoy the social aspect that the studio offers. They make life-long friends there.
We have pottery wheels. Some are electric, and some kick. We have a slab roller, extruder, wedging table, glazes, raw materials, two kilns. For those who are interested, I also teach mold making. And we have exhibition opportunities. We do shows once a year in any of the community art venues. CALB, ARTX, LBA, and Helada have all hosted shows for us. We usually have to pay a gallery rental fee. So, the space is paid for by the participating artists.
Do you feel like you’ve achieved what you set out to?
I feel like my vision is/was much larger than the reality that I was able to create. I see so much need. I feel limited by manpower and resources. Still, we have come a long way since the beginning. We started off in a tiny space, and overflowed onto the outside picnic tables. I am so grateful for the wonderful space that we have, and for all of the support that we have received from the city. I have made my wishes known. They are doing their best, and that effort has resulted in a very successful program. That said, there is always room for improvement.
I have a partnership with the PRM Department. They have been so very supportive of the studio. Bixby is a community. I support that community wholeheartedly, and am proud to be a part of it. When I started this program I hoped that it would flourish, but I was not sure that it would. It has been a lot of hard work, and worth every bit of effort.
What is your background in studio ceramics?
My mother was an artist. She had friends who were potters. I guess I cut my teeth on clay. I have a BFA from CSULB, and an MFA from CSU Fullerton. I did forensic clay facial reconstruction at Case Western Reserve Medical School. I worked for many years as a commercial sculptor, doing toy prototyping, tooling masters, Disney, theme park, film industry union work, and architectural ornamentation. Also, mold making, mural painting, toy industry pant masters, and plush design.
All of these wonderful opportunities that I had started with access. I have some of my very early pieces. Things that I made during my childhood. They are so cute. Lumpy. Little. My life would have turned out so differently if I had not been introduced to clay.
When did you come to the U.S. from England?
As a child. The whole family moved here. My dad had a Ph.D. in Physics, and was also a musician and a painter. My mum was a folk artist. It was pretty tough at times. We were round pegs, trying to fit into square holes. I’m pretty sure that I am describing the immigrant experience.
Was art making a regular thing at home?
Yes. Always. Every flat surface was taken up by projects. Everything was blobbed with paint. Every day, somebody was doing something. In my house, I have pieces that were done by me, my parents, my cousins, my husband, my auntie.
I am also a musician. I play flute and sax. I used to perform with my dad in various, mostly community-based, groups. Life without art seems unbearable. I hope I never have to see what that looks like.
What was the inspiration for your exploration of bioinvasion as a theme for art making?
Untitled, by Anita Sinclair. Photo courtesy of the artist.
I am very concerned about environmental devastation, and the effects of it on animal and plant life. Also, climate change. Scary stuff. Contemporary art is concept-based. Conceptual. I use my studio practice to convey a message. I never had an ‘ah ha’ moment. I have always focused on trying to make a difference. I wish to be a catalyst for positive change.
I was working with feminist/social change issues for a while. I did a series of works focusing on the maquiladora deaths in Ciudad Juárez. That was a heartbreaking process. The intellectual shift occurred after I read some writings by Eduardo Kac. He is the bio artist who, with scientists, created a genetically engineered rabbit. His thinking process is cockeyed. He wanted to breed the modified rabbit. Yikes!
Then, I found a Spanish artist who planted genetically engineered cacti in the saguaro desert, in Mexico. Not smart. I then started looking into other bio artists. What they are doing, and why. All the while, acknowledging that great amounts of damage is done by us every day. Pollution. Large-scale environmental catastrophes. Climate change. Transportation and release of invasive non-native species.
How did all of this start?
I have always had a tendency to do work that has a social/political message. I have always been very interested in that place where art and science merge. During my MFA [Master of Fine Arts] program, both of my parents were going through cancer treatments. One had cancer of the bladder. The other had cancer of the bile duct. One had a hopeful treatment plan. The other had terminal cancer, with a life expectancy of roughly six months to a year. Mum, with the terminal cancer, lived for two and a half years after her diagnosis.
So, much of my time, during grad school, was spent dealing with cancer. Blood tests, scans, chemo, radiation. Lots of medications. And, of course, lots of research. I wanted to know why. I found strong evidence supporting the possibility that my mother was ill because toxic exposure from living in London during the blitz. Her area was pretty industrial, and heavily bombed. This may or may not be the cause of her cancer, but there is a cluster of people who lived through that experience, near her childhood location, and who have been diagnosed with her cancer type. Anyway, this got me into my current trajectory. My current series. Anatomy, environment, and genetics. Focusing on the science, rather than the emotional side of things, made it a lot easier to cope.
To learn more about Anita and her work, visit zhibit.org/anita-sinclair. To learn more about programs and classes at the Long Beach Community Ceramics Studio at Bixby Park, visit the PRM Department’s online catalog, or stop by the studio during open hours. The studio is open on Mondays from 9:00AM to 12:00PM, and on Saturdays from 12:30PM to 3:30PM. Bixby Park is located between Junipero, Cherry, Broadway and Ocean.
Registration for the eight-week class is $50, with an additional $24 materials fee. Anita is also offering an Oil Painting class on Saturdays from 9:00AM to 12:00PM, and a new sculpture class on Mondays from 12:30 to 3:30PM. The sculpture class is not yet in the catelog, so stop by the studio to learn more about it.