Who Is Deirdre Potash?
Career Summary & Accomplishments
Over 30 years of experience as an art educator with a diverse practice including a specialty in cultural mediation. My education practice has initiated projects from introducing and establishing art programs, setting up and running art shows within schools and community groups. I have worked on different types of projects with different clientele, from children to seniors in a variety of settings. This has included sectors in education, community groups, business environments, health and mental health institutions, and school and university locations.
Deirdre Potash – Artist
“As an artist, I work on many levels, through words but more often through visual imagery.
A tactile exploration on a personal level yet I want to evoke your reactions.”
I have no medium of choice. It’s an ongoing journey that has included drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and design, into which I incorporate gesture, line, form, tone, texture, and colour. I often highlight perspective and composition through observation and imaginative endeavours based on still life, the human form, and landscapes. From this foundation, I set out on a voyage of discovery and I ask you to come along and join me for the ride.
Art is not a passive process. Although it commences with the artist, it concludes with a transaction between multiple parties. The exhibition hall is my stage, my podium, a place to exchange viewpoints. I regret that I don’t always get to hear what you, the viewer, have to say. It must be shared. The viewer is asked to look at, think about, and analyze art as an aesthetic object. I draw on historical, cultural, and personal events past and present; through my travels, conversations, and quiet introspective times.
There is more to be learned by doing than by watching. It is through discovery in manipulating materials and techniques that I truly learn. Finally, my finished works need to be displayed, shared, and celebrated. In the final analysis, I approach art the same way I approach life: I always begin with a plan. I am passionate about what I do, and I am prepared at any moment to be inspired by the unexpected. Constantly assessing and evaluating my art through self-examination and peer feedback, I will continue to challenge myself and reinvent my art, implementing new strategies of learning and creation.
