Out of Left Field

Lisboa - facing the bridge

Invited to move to Lisbon in 2018 and the thought finally grabbed hold of me in 2022 when another friend said to me “what a lovely country - I think i’ll get my residency”. This second nudge is when I said “yes”. I landed in 2023. Upon my arrival, I began to experienced here something spiritual, spiritual in the sense of creativity … it seemed, to me, that Lisbon (perhaps all of Portugal) is run by a creativity down to the molecular level. Art, ideas, words … they show up everywhere and in every way. From the small painted tiles to the large installations all over the city. Everyone here seems to be come up with ideas and a willingness to try them - they simply say … “okay, why not? Let’s see if it works”, “what can we do?”, “how do we do it”. The considerations are simple - expression, creativity (and I suppose also because it is fun). The creative force is a gentle but constant pressure, like adding a breath of air, day by day to a balloon … if the pressure is not released the balloon will eventually explode … After walking the city for 3 months I awoke one morning and said to myself “I have got to make something with my hands”. I needed to create. My balloon was about to burst … In my walks I kept passing a studio that offered wheel classes. That was it. I asked my host if she’d join me in throwing, she said yes … this moment began my venture into ceramics. This site continues the exploration and is a direct result of the gentle pressure this city applies …

H