Lyn
Ferlo
The
best statement Ferlo knows is 'War is unhealthy for
children and other living things'. Everything that
goes into war is antithetical to art and a creative
life. Along with the sheer horror of it, the money
and energy spent on war takes away from what is needed
to develop sustainable support systems for education
and health, let alone to encourage and raise new artists
and art appreciators. Children 'distracted' by poverty,
disease and ignorance have very few means of self
expression, little experience of positive 'group'
(as in an orchestra or a play), little opportunity
to produce something beautiful by one's own hand to
present as a gift to a dearly loved one. Something
very valuable will always be missing from their lives.
Personally, she has spent a lot of time protesting
and working for or against such issues as war, civil
rights, women's rights and related humanitarian issues.
What does this have to do with art? Some of what Ferlo
feels and observes is reflected in her paintings and
sculptures and even more in many essays on how events
of the day impact us. Ferlo misses the time these
activities have taken from time she could have spent
in the studio, but she does not regret one second
of it. Creating works of art or creating the circumstances
where such art may flourish go hand in hand. Ferlo
does not know what the audience 'sees' when looking
at her work. She only knows that regardless of world
events or personal circumstances, she keep producing
and that process will continue. Ferlo feels that the
very best thing an artist can do is to keep presenting
a personal vision. When people ask 'what do you paint?',
Ferlo says, "I paint pictures." They can
be allegorical, representational or abstract but they
are almost always pictures that she sees and puts
on canvas. Sculpture and ceramics gives her a chance
to do 'physical' work, to create beautiful and useful
things out of what is essentially, dirt.
Ferlo is an oil painter, sculptor, ceramist; writer
(essays, short stories, poetry) and has taught sculpture,
ceramics, drawing and painting. She was Art Editor
of The Pittsburgh Quarterly and wrote essays
on art and produced illustrations for stories and
articles. She has published poems in several magazines
and has also designed and illustrated several magazine
and book covers. Ferlo served on the Board of Directors
of the Ceramic League of Miami (a professional guild),
participated in the Members' Show as Coordinator which
involved building sets and display islands as well
as mounting the show and was appointed School Director
for the guild which held 8 to 10 classes every eight
weeks, serving ~200 students. Ferlo's direct responsibilities
were: designing a curriculum, recruiting teachers;
scheduling classes; collect fees, pay salaries, mix
glazes, fire kilns, maintaining the mailing list,
inventory and order supplies.
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