Photo by Renee Kientz
Ruth Siporski’s work is less representational than her husband’s , focused more on form and structure; she is known for colorful ceramic tiles (like the ones pictured here) as well as brightly-hued paper panels and man-sized clay totems.
For two seriously creative types who share a last name—sort of—home is always where the art is. Dennis Sipiorski and Ruth Siporski inhabit their three-acre compound off a quiet street in Covington with their two children, two dogs, a cat, two bunnies, a guinea pig, finches, canaries, and chickens. Also present is the invigorating charge of creativity, which flows through every room of their home and spills out into a series of small buildings that serve as their studios, play spaces, and even a little shop.
The couple has lived in this place since 2003, when Dennis accepted the job as chair of the Visual Arts department at Southeastern University. He’s only half-joking when he says that they can never move; the challenge would be daunting, to pack up the probably hundreds of thousands of pieces of art, found objects, and miscellany accumulated there. The clutter never quite threatens to cross the threshold of hoarding, except, perhaps, in what Ruth calls “the dead room,” a chamber she prefers to ignore, that—with its Elvis memorabilia, gator jaws, hats, and geegaws—feels like a garage sale gone wrong.
Elsewhere, everywhere but the dead room, the collections feel…curated. They make sense. Jugs, hearts, African art, Day of the Dead pieces, Mexican masks, ceramics, pieces from people they have crossed paths with over the years. Art everywhere, adding color, providing inspiration, nudging creativity, and awakening memories, both cultural and personal.
Dennis Sipiorski likes to tell stories through his ceramics and his paintings, often populated by Louisiana creatures like alligators, snakes, frogs, and bird life. The two studios he maintains on the grounds—one for pottery, one for painting—are work spaces suited to his temperament.
The painting studio sits near the back of the property, a short walk that takes you over a small wooden bridge. Columns made of old slide carousels adorn the porch. Inside is a riot of color, flotsam, and jetsam—part man-cave, part artist’s den. Antlers, old LPs and 45s, and a jukebox mingle with chests full of painters’ tools, tubes of paint and brushes, and aquariums filled with rocks and bones and turtle shells. Paintings pulled from a drawer reflect narratives told in bright colors and iconography.
“I am inspired by everything around me and things that happen,” he says, pulling paintings from a drawer. “This was inspired by Elvis’ birthday. We have chickens, so I did chickens. It snowed, so this one has snow. This one is voodoo; this is inspired by a Mexican mask.” His pottery studio, just thirty steps or so away from the main house, is located in the property’s old well house, now full of wooden tables rendered the color of cream by clay slip, tools and bowls, and reference books.
Adjacent, Ruth Siporski maintains her own studio. She is known for brightly hued paper panels, colorful ceramic tiles, and man-sized clay totems, rich in texture, pattern, and nuance—a hint of nature but reflective of it and not representational. While her husband’s work tells stories explicitly, hers seems to be more about form and structure, as befitting an architect’s daughter. Ruth crafts her clay tiles and totems in the winter months inside her studio, which, despite the thousands of bottles, pieces of clay, organic materials, and found objects, looks organized and neat. She prefers to create the cast paper—hand-built from cotton pulp and wedged into panels—outside of the studio and on the series of large tables under its overhang.
She teaches art to fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-graders at Covington’s Christ Episcopal School during the week and sometimes struggles to find time to put in the studio work. “Dennis has that ‘Dutch work ethic’ thing going on,” she says with a laugh. “He has much more of a routine, teaching Monday through Thursday and then making Friday his studio day. He produces a lot more, faster.”
Ruth often wanders around the grounds and “putzes around” for inspiration. The property is framed by large pines, and there is green everywhere, and pops of color: yellow irises, Ruth’s large and ambitious vegetable garden. In addition to the three studios, there’s an impressively tall tree house and a little wooden structure Ruth calls “Dennis’ funky little showroom.” The showroom, a few steps from the couple’s eight kilns, serves as a little gallery for Dennis’ ceramic pieces—mugs, bowls, trays, vases—all lined up for sale. “Dennis gets calls from fans of his work who need a gift for someone or who want to come and pick out a piece.”
Both Ruth and Dennis’ work can be found in collections far and wide. Both are represented by the Henry Hood Gallery in the heart of old Covington, and both have had shows at Caffery Gallery in Baton Rouge. They also are regulars in the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival’s juried craft offerings; this year they’ll be representing at the second week of the Fest, May 1—4.
The two have been married twenty years. The name difference stems from a clerical spelling error: when they recorded the marriage, someone dropped the second ‘i’ in Sipiorski. So Ruth’s new name was listed as Siporski. It seemed like a lot of trouble to change it, says Ruth, so they never did. The different spellings have caused confusion over the years, with their names often both listed as Siporski, which is how Dennis pronounces Sipiorski anyway.
Dennis, a Wisconsin native with an MFA from Notre Dame, moved to Louisiana for a teaching job and embraced his new home state, as well as one of its daughters, a Thibodaux girl with deep roots in the bayou. On the face of it, their personalities might seem to clash. He’s droll and a little reserved, embracing chaos and Elvis (a holdover from childhood when Mom dressed him up like The King). Ruth, on the other hand, is sunny and open, a nurturer who smiles often, laughs easily, and keeps everyone on track. But both love making art and the fact that, there at the Siporski/Sipiorski compound, they’ve created a world where art is celebrated, embraced, breathed in and out by the whole family.
Son Martin, sixteen, has been working with clay, turning out face jugs. Daughter Catherine, nine, has talent with clay, too; her cornucopia of Louisiana critters shows skill and a sense of whimsy. Ruth says there are times when everyone is at home creating art, each doing his or her own thing.
From her studio, her garden, the back patio, or her dining room window, Ruth can keep an eye on her domain; and she loves what she sees. She knows it is special.
“It is pretty protected back here. And quiet,” she says. The only sounds are reassuring ones, the gentle chirping from the bird cage behind her and the plaintive nagging of a nine-year-old girl charged with babysitting the family’s rambunctious Australian shepherd, Boudin. The sun has finally come out after a hard night’s rain. The cat has found a spot on the desk to curl up and nap.
Ruth smiles. “This is the place where I am most creative and most comfortable. I like my big vegetable garden; I like seeing green all around me. I couldn’t do this in a place where I wasn’t surrounded by nature.
“I love it here. I love Covington. I love the way the property feels. It’s home.” Details. Details. Details. Ruth Siporski’s website: siporskidesigns.com Dennis Sipiorski’s website: devilswampstudios.com Henry Hood Gallery 325 East Lockwood Covington, La. (985) 892-4148 Caffery Gallery 4016 Government Street Baton Rouge, La. (225) 388-9397 • cafferygallery.com
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