CLAY AND PAINT: A Two-Woman Show

My paintings are a collection of memories, both those of childhood and the present. They tell stories, using both conscious and unconscious imagery, of my ́experiences and fantasies. They are comic and yet tragic. The figurative forms enclosed in these paintings travel through distorted spaces, encountering odd situations and thṛngs that seem like they cannot be. The images that survive are primal, ritualistic and cathartic. The paintings go through evolutions and cycles. A resolution occurs when the figurative forms become united and accepting of their environment... home, sweet, home.

-Jan Litvene

Great American Landscape Box #1 by Kathleen Cerveny

Because of my training in functional ceramics, I am interested in the container. Because of my interest in the Orient and the accident, I am intrigued with Raku. Because I have never been able to agree that a thing has only one use or meaning, my work has several levels of approach. The "boxes" that I make are containers-but in a metaphorical sense, They are highly impractical; they have a variety of reasons for being. They speak of fragility and ceremony, line

and landscape, and were created to contain the feelings, memories and associations of their owners. -Kathleen Cerveny

Shortly before the opening of "Clay and Paint" on March 18, we decided to talk with Kathleen Cerveny and Jan Litvene and preview their artwork for the benefit of What She Wants readers. Their exhibit at the Women's City Club Gallery at 320 Superior Avenue will continue until April 24. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Kathleen Cerveny's hand-built, Raku fired ceramics are quiet and self-assured. The landscapederived surface glazing is thoroughly integrated aesthetically with the pots themselves. These "containers" are both boxes and paintings. "As a woman," says Ms. Cerveny, "the container has special significance. Utilizing a rather consistent form-a round, lidded container-I am interested in creating a flow of surface enrichment which both is compatible with, and is in denial of the form." Her descriptions of two different, but related, series reflect a concern with female imagery as a powerful frame of reference for her work:

The "Ceremonial Box" series is lyrical, flowing and organic, relying on the juxtaposition of contrasting elements-black and white, glossy and dull surfaces for impact. These boxes (as well as the others) are fragile, breakable. Indeed, when the tops are removed they are not unlike broken egg shells. The sequence of associations: box, container, vagina, uterus, egg-is significant.

The "Obvious Landscape Box" series, employing the same basic container form, makes a more literally decorative statement. While all the connotations of female imagery are still there, the surface decoration makes these pieces less readily accessible to this kind of interpretation. It is significant that they are landscapes-pictures of the Earth-a strong female im-

age.

Ms. Cerveny enjoys meeting the people who purchase her work and take it home with them. Particularly with pieces that are newly conceived and made, the taking away of these pieces is sometimes painful for her: "I feel as if they are taking parts of me home." The response of the audience to her work

FORP: A Voluntary Alternative

When Joan was placed on probation for shoplifting, her probation officer told her about the Female Offender Remotivation Project (FORP), a program sponsored by the United Labor Agency. At the YWCA at 3201 Euclid Avenue, Joan decided to meet with Janice Felton, Director of FORP, from whom she learned about this voluntary alternative which offers individual and group counseling sessions, a way of learning about resources, job preparation, and about herself. Joan would become one of the 25 participants in the program, all of whom have committed misdemeanors.

Gwen Barton, a counselor, helped Joan discover her needs and goals. Her financial needs, she told Gwen, seemed overwhelming: "I receive $200 a month from Welfare. $110 goes to rent, the rest goes for food, utilities, children's needs. I need more. I want a job, but I dropped out of high school and have no skills. Welfare helps, but no way is it enough."

They developed a plan of action. Gwen sent Joan to the Perlis Remotivation Center, another program supported by the United Labor Agency. There Joan was placed in training as an electronics technician. She also started in for group sessions in which help with basic needs and ways of dealing with them are discussed.

Diet, nutrition, assertiveness, male-female relationships, and problems in handling stress are all important issues which group members address. Individual participation is always encouraged. One group raised funds to pay for a recreational activity that would include their children. Another group volunteered their time at a senior citizens' home. At the end of a three-month cycle, Joan, her group members and Gwen plan to evaluate their progress and to consider the value of continuing for another three months.

Funded by the Cleveland Foundation, the FORP began as a demonstration project a year and half

is an important part of the creative process.

Jan Litvene knows, on the other hand, that even without an audience she would continue painting. "In college, I found myself painting 8 hours a day," she recalls. "I then knew that it was a committed part of my life." Ms. Litvene has been painting for 12 years. She feels that it took her a while to say what she wanted. Remembering her post-college years while looking for employment, Ms. Litvene felt the sudden lack of support that can be generated in a student artist atmosphere: "My work looked pink and pastelly, with little apples floating about." But even this work was crucial to her development; she calls these scattered pieces "survival images" because they represent the urge and need to create.

Ms. Litvene's bold lively paintings belong to the humanist tradition in art. The images are very personal and strongly symbolic: human figures are expressively distorted and combined with plant and food images (with sexual implications) and with written words. Her rich, bright colors are applied aggressively in a "painterly" or rough-brush-stroke style. Strongly influenced by the resources of autobiography, psychoanalysis, and narrative paint-

Jan Litvene with "Chuck & Rapunzel''

ings, the unusual titles show a wry sense of humor: "press me in your envelope," "puddle," "ike in washin machin,” “halima's dream". These sensitive and powerful paintings are a welcome relief from the (continued on page 14)

ago. The project focuses on the remotivation of females between the ages of 18 and 30 who have been convicted of misdemeanors. About 90 percent of the participants suffer from financial hardships. Others speak of difficult emotional or unhappy family situations. Most are unmarried black mothers living on the East Side.

Ten participants are currently employed; of these, only one held a job when she entered the program. Four others are training in fields such as medical assistantships. Gwen also mentioned that another four women are enrolled in classes. She is particularly proud of a student of interior design: "She came in March, 1978, and was one of the first I worked with. She is now enrolled at Kent State.” The staff are pleased with the overall progress of many of these

women.

Janice Felton, M.S.W., the Director, worked as a Direct Service Supervisor in Counselor Education, and now teaches part-time in the Mental Health Department of Tri-C. Janice feels excited to work in this prevention-oriented project.

Gwendolyn Barton, M.S W., worked with offenders in the Baltimore City Jail and then came to

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April, 1979/What She Wants/Page 3