Artist’s Statement
I grew up in the Sacramento area and have been fly fishing and skin diving since I was four or five years old. I developed a passion and appreciation for the outdoors from my father who was a watercolorist and an avid fly fisherman. Most of our fly fishing, hunting, and diving was done in Northern California and Oregon, but our favorite destination for fly fishing was on the upper Sacramento River near Dunsmuir, California, where I now live.
I taught art and fly fishing at Sierra College and California State University Sacramento in the seventies and eighties. I always held part-time positions so I could devote more time pursuing my art and my fly-fishing guide service in Dunsmuir. The winters are somewhat long and dreary in Dunsmuir. Every winter I travel to the other hemisphere or the tropics to fish, to dive, and to bring back ideas for new art work. At home in my studio I work on recreating the experiences and visual images I’ve encountered abroad. Only a portion of this work is representational art; many of my pieces are somewhat abstract configurations of colors, interacting shapes, and vague images portraying more of a feeling rather than a representational image. For instance: the excitement and ferocity of sharks in a feeding frenzy, or the colors and movement of an underwater tropical reef, or the shadows of trout hiding under rhubarb leaves in a mountain stream.
The surfaces and glazes of the individual fish I make are patterned after the reflected color of the water and the texture of the rock formations along the river where I guide. With the application of ceramic glazes each fish becomes my own personal abstract painting.
As with primitive hunting and fishing masks, my masks reflect my own personal relationship with the animals I’m about to pursue. Success is related to the visions of understanding and respect towards one’s quarry that’s emitted from the mask.
I love the colors of fish and water. It’s fascinating what water does to color — it makes every conceivable variation and texture either in itself or by reflection. The transparent and reflective quality of ceramic glazes seems to portray water better than any other medium. The melting and fusing of glass to clay in the firing process is a somewhat magical and mysterious transformation, one that has always fascinated me. I can’t wait to open my kiln after a firing.
My artwork has provided clarity and direction for me and, hopefully, my viewers. It’s been a way of exploring deeply into why we hunt and fish and what our outdoor experiences are really made up of.
As an artist, I feel very fortunate for the viewers whose purchases and generous gestures over the years have made possible my pursuit of a very personal vision. I feel through my art and fishing I have made many friends and allies who have shared my passions and concerns about the natural world.
I currently have work on display at galleries in Sacramento, Dunsmuir, and Mt. Shasta. To view more of my works, visit my website at www.fredgordon.net.
Fred Gordon
