Larsons’ art focuses on human-nature interaction

Although many of Ken and Pat Larson’s figurative ceramic works may remind one of a native American culture, Pat Larson said that was not their original intention.

“Perhaps they do appear to have a native American influence, we did not overtly pull from that tradition,” Pat Larson said. “Sometimes it’s easier to communicate what you want to say simply, so that you don’t spend years on getting it just right.”

At home now in Sturgeon Lake, Minn., both artists have BA degrees in art from the University of Minnesota in Duluth, and, oddly enough, both have minor degrees in music, but those are used for recreational purposes only, Pat said. The couple met in a drawing class at the college and Ken had plans to be a music major. Soon, however, he found the competition in the music department to be fierce, so he took an art class, then, according to Pat, just followed a whim, with the good fortune of getting enthusiastic instructors along the way.

Both the Larsons studied ceramics with Glenn Nelson, well-known in academic circles, and both learned clay throwing techniques from John Steffl. Although they started out in the 1970’s in the functional pottery tradition, they eventually transformed their work into ornamental sculptures.

As they collaborate on a piece, Pat said the distribution of labor is never 50-50.

“One of us will come up with an idea, and we’ll run it verbally past the other, and if we both think it has merit, then the one with the idea will make a sketch. We’ll continue to pursue that idea on paper, then build something in clay and continue to talk back and forth. Sometimes the collaboration is 60-40, sometimes it’s 90-10.”

Another major aspect of the Larsons’ work is the recurring theme of the black bird, the crow, the raven or the magpie. That theme comes from their several trips to the mountains and the desert southwest. Ken said the crow or raven figures in many different folk traditions throughout the world.

“I see the crows as survivors, and they are held in respect by some and reviled by others,” Ken Larson said. He related that on two separate trips to the southwest, he saw ravens entering a hole in a cliff among the Anasazi ruins, and speculated what kinds of items the birds may have accumulated there over several hundreds of years. “Our interest in them and our research is only just beginning.” The Larsons also spoke of the abstract nature of their work in an artist’s statement to the Daily News.

“Because our work starts with us — humans — the human form, often simplified or abstracted has become an important element. An ongoing love affair with birds and their representation in clay makes up the balance. Combining these focuses has led to exploring the possibilities for interactions between humans and birds, or in a larger sense, between the human race and the environment.”

Most of the Larsons’ art sales come from having their works in galleries or at art fairs, such as the Iowa Sculpture Festival. The area around Sturgeon Lake is economically depressed, they say, so they don’t get a lot of studio visits. This year will be the second year for the Larsons’ at the Newton art festival.

“We had good luck last year. That’s why we’re coming back,” Ken said.