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~ fall 2oo8 ~ 
issue #11

archives: inna rogova and
natalya korchemkina

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Moonship Inna Rogova

On an Earth's End Inna Rogova

Midnight Natalya Korchemkina Chat with a Fish Natalya Korchemkina

This informal interview occurred when LaDonna Eastman was participating in the Art Intern program and sharing the Cole Intern House at Bernheim Forest with Inna Rogova and Natalya Korchemkina, visiting artists from Perm, Russia.

"The first night I began my assignment as Bernheim’s Art Intern, I was to share the Cole Intern House with two exchange artists from Russia. At first I was nervous due the fact only one of them could communicate in English, but Inna put my fears to rest as we chatted about their work and life in general. With a beautiful thick accent and occasional pauses between phrases to gather her thoughts in choosing the right word or term, Inna answered my questions about their lives as artists and their experiences in Kentucky. Natalya taught me how to say, 'thank you' in Permian."

LE: Inna how long have you and Natalya been in KY, and how long will you be staying?

IR: We first came here with the Sister Cities of Louisville (www.sclou.org) program two years ago. Billy Hertz of Hertz Gallery in Louisville offered us an apartment above the gallery while we participated in the St. James Court Art Fair and the Sister Cities program. We lived there for two weeks and became good friends with some of the other residents there. When we returned to Russia, months went past and we received an email from our friends in KY saying they missed us and were looking forward to our return. Billy contacted Julie Schweitzer and, after many emails between the Sister Cities organization and Bernheim, we were the first to participate in this new exchange program. They forwarded our information to Julie Schweitzer, who is also a participant with them, and, of course, we were going to be at the St. James show again. It was so surprising this year, we had many people tell us they bought our work last year and wanted to purchase more pieces for friends or for their homes. We were very pleased. We have been here at Bernheim since the middle of September and will be returning to Russia at the end of November.

LE: What have you been working on during your stay here? I noticed you’re using the Lakeside Studio and the kiln located there. Some of the unfinished pieces I saw were fascinating.

IR: Yes, it was good to learn of the facilities here and Bernheim was hospitable to let us stay. We have been working on new clay pieces from our stay here. They are all done by hand and each one is unique; maybe in the same style but different details… or hmmm, improvements? Then we fire them in the kiln – the kiln being in the same place as the studio has been very good, we were very much pleased. We did have to experiment with different colors and glazes at first; some of the materials were different from what we used before so it was very rewarding though… challenging sometimes. (laughs)

LE: Do you and Natalya work on the same piece together, or do you create separate works?

IR: We do separately our own pieces, unless it is a larger work such as like the hands we will be installing here on-site. This piece is very large, and we had to help each other as we built. We hope it will fit (laughing). We had to measure the kiln and the width is OK, but the height I think, we’re not sure, as it gets drier; we hope it will shrink just a bit to fit inside.

LE: The works I’ve seen are very interesting, kind of solid and a bit surreal, perhaps? Has your style, or the type of work either of you create, changed from when you first started out?

IR: Yes. Of course! Each one is done by hand, built as it feels, or thoughts at the time of the creating… pieces may be similar to other ones, but never the same. How could it be? Details are different... shapes. But there is a, hmmm, style? Or character? That is from me, I guess, from Natalya. Each time is new.

LE: They’re beautiful; I love the faces on some of them, there was a bird I saw in the studio that had such an attitude. Have you always worked with clay or ceramics as an artist?

IR: Yes, I have, but not Natalya. She went to a very… hmmm, high standards… hmmm, art school… university… in St. Petersburg. She was formally trained as a glass artist. But, she wanted to do more; she could only create, draw the designs, ideas on paper, draw shapes and colors, but the master - always a man - blows the glass in the fire, so there was not so much… control or direct involvement? This requires very strong lungs… powerful… so always it is a man that does this. The artist does not finish the work, or actually do the work. Not so good for her, so she tried clay. She found this to be much better, more creative… she enjoys it much, much more.

LE: Have you always been an artist, I mean, making a living this way? I know when I work in an office, or doing a "regular job", something that doesn’t really let me create or express myself artistically I begin to feel bad, or restless, sometimes just unhappy, then later even manifesting into illness. Do you find this true as well?

IR: Exactly! I know how you mean. It is so true, this does happen! (laughing) Originally, I was not an artist. I have no formal training… did not go to school for this. I was a translator for books. In Perm, I translated books, mostly fiction, from English into Russian. This was OK, very direct. I know you write poetry, and this is a more difficult thing to translate, the meanings could be completely different, the concepts based on how the word is used, sometimes incomplete thoughts... very hard to do. Fiction is more direct - the translation is the same for the most part – except, sometimes English may have different words. For example: in my language we have one word (she holds up one finger and makes an arc in the air around her left arm), one, for this part of the body. In your language there are two (holds up two fingers and points toward her hand and up her arm), you have a hand and the rest of the arm. So there are some that we have to search for as close as possible to make it work, but it can be done. (nodding)

LE: What about the elbow, isn’t that three parts?

IR: No, we have the elbow also (laughing). So first, translator of books, then I met Natalya and was very impressed by the work she was doing. I started working with her in ceramics and clay, learning from her. It has been very good. In Russia it is different to be an artist. I cannot just decide to do this like people in the United States. You have to apply, submit your work for review by a professional committee, an artist’s union. I was very fortunate to be accepted.

LE: Both of your works seem to be selling very well; people are asking for them specifically now. How do you feel about creating something, putting in many hours, or weeks even, of work and then letting it go? I know when I make something, sometimes I think, "hey, I really like this I’m keeping it", or my kids want it, or it was inspired from some personal occurrence in my life. I find I hang on to most of my stuff even though I’ve been offered money – well sometimes, very rarely, but it happens, well OK only once (much laughing from both of us), but you know what I mean. Do you make things for your audience or to please yourself, and is there any "separation anxiety"?

IR: No, it is a good feeling. We make what comes from inside (pointing to her head and heart). Each piece is special, different. I am glad people want them for their homes. We are having an exhibition here at Bernheim in January, but will not be able to see it, which is some sadness for us. We must leave here all the work we have done when we return at the end of November. It does not travel well so far; we tried this before and many pieces were broken. So (she shrugs), we create them and it is like… children, should be like children (nodding), we have to let them go when they are ready into the world.