Teapots, teacups, birds and more! BTS interviews Canadian artist, Cori Lee Marvin

 

Clematis, part of the reflective series by Cori Lee Marvin

Last month, Barb's Tea Service headed north for a great Canadian adventure. While visiting family in Kingston, we took a day trip to Perth where we discovered RiverGuild Fine Crafts, one of Canada's oldest Artist Collectives. Here, we came upon the work of Cori Lee Marvin and became instant fans of her watercolor paintings featuring teapots, teacups, birds, frogs, flowers and a happy hodgepodge of colorful antiques. We purchased several of her art cards and went searching for more on her website; marvindale.ca.  There we found so much more to love and add to our collection. 

We reached out to Cori Lee Marvin to learn more.  She graciously agreed to an interview and her story is as endearing and captivating as her art. We thank Cori for her time in sharing her artist's journey as well as the beautiful images (Copyright @ 2023 Cori Lee Marvin)  to accompany our blog post.

BTS interview with artist, Cori Lee Martin:

1. I see from your website that you have been a professional artist for twenty years. What took you on this path? What drew you to watercolors?

After university, I spent a lot of time roaming across Canada, working in bookstores from here to there. I’ve never been one to follow the predictable path and it became pretty clear to me in my twenties, that I’d be a much happier soul working for myself. So, I made the decision to pursue the skills I had as an artist. I was privileged enough to have the support of my family as I hunkered down to build a portfolio. It’s funny, looking back. I never really doubted that I could eke out a living that way. In retrospect, I guess I’m pretty lucky.

2. The subject of much of your artwork is a mix of animals and antiques. How did these themes come about? 

Yes, part of the privilege of my early years was that I took up residence with my 90 year-old grandma in the family farm house. It sits upon a hundred acres of naturally diverse land here in Northumberland County. So, the pairings of antiques and animals were quite natural. As a former student of writing and literature, I was taught the idea that, for the best stories, you ‘write what you know’. So, I took my surroundings and began storytelling through pencil and paint.

Finch in a Cup

3. You noted the tea paintings are close to your heart. Is there a special connection you have to tea time and teacups/teapots? Do any of those tea accoutrements belong to you? 

Some things just click. I remember the moment when tea accoutrements lit up my mind with ideas. I was so excited. For me, it was the perfect marriage of beauty, and nostalgia. As a painter, the knowledge that an object has a history, a tradition, is huge. It brings things to life. And the fact that my grandma still had all of these well-worn teacups, pots, sugar bowls… It was magic. All of the artifacts in my work are things that share space with me in this doddering, old house. We have a connection.

Music Lessons

4. The captions to your artwork are clever, descriptive and many are funny (e.g. "Music Lessons", "Toad Stool" - even the owner of the Perth studio said he enjoys how you title your work!).  Do you caption the artwork after completion or is the idea for the caption what inspires the picture?

As I mentioned, I have a background in literature and bookselling. I’ve always been a ‘word bird’. I’m also married to a fella with a Masters degree in Comparative Literature. It’s part of our fabric to use words this way, to play with language. The titles of my work are really important sometimes. Often, the titles will live in my head for years before the right time comes to make the painting. So, yes, sometimes the title comes first, before the concept. Other times the painting steeps for a while before the right title floats past. Occasionally, there are paintings where cleverness or word play doesn’t work and the image must simply be labelled.

Home Grown

5. Your reflective series is beautiful and there's a story within the story/picture within a picture (reflection of the room on the central object). Will you have more in this series?

The reflective series takes place, almost exclusively, in our country kitchen. It has always fascinated me that a single room can present so differently in these reflections, depending on the shape of the object, its position, angle and time of day or weather outside. I’ll likely be doing more in this series as I find the process calms me and hones my skills simultaneously. These days, time is always the issue as I have little kids and a rambunctious dog in the mix.

Singers

6. Currently, your artwork is available on your website and various retail stores and art shows in Canada. Any plans to expand?

The idea of expansion doesn’t come up very often. Part of my world-view is keeping our footprint small and cultivating an appreciation of what we have, without the perpetual grasping that fuels so much of our world. But practically speaking, I simply don’t have the time for further growth and the business is almost at capacity as it stands. With the help of my parents, who live next door, my husband and I work together to make it all happen. We also home-school our kids! We are busy and we are happy. 

I'm a Little Teapot

7. You live on 100 acres with your family. This is your home and home of your studio as well? Do you farm/garden there, too? Are the animals in your art visitors/residents of your place? 

Our kids are the 8^th generation of my family to live on this land. We grow and preserve as much of our own food as we can. It’s a constant battle though, as any gardener knows, against weather, and pests. The amount of work that goes into a small crop of food? It’s quite astonishing. We can’t call ourselves farmers but parts of the land (the few parts that are flat) are still rented to neighboring farmers for crops. Our land is a fantastic combination of hills, valleys, streams and forests, none of which makes for easy farming. My ancestors did the best they could, with orchards and market gardens and livestock. Nowadays, my dad and mom have spent their retirement reforesting and naturalizing the 100 acres. It’s an amazing place for kids to grow up and the source of all my inspiration. All of the critters in my work are either residents here or are plucked from encounters I’ve had nearby or at the Toronto zoo.

 

8. Anything else you'd like to add that I didn't cover in my questions.

Maybe I’d add that, a question I get asked frequently (apart from where I get my inspiration, which we’ve definitely covered) is what my style is called. And, while I don’t have a specific answer, my goal is to unite realism with nature and imagination. I think when the technical skills of drawing and painting can team up with the uniqueness of my environment and a vivid imagination, a little magic can happen. My favorite pieces are the ones that make a viewer feel like they’ve stepped into a quiet scene unfolding under slightly mysterious circumstances. A whimsical snapshot from a world that’s just like ours but quieter, more peaceful.

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We again wish to thank Cori for sharing her story and incredible art. We know what to add to this year's wish list. For more happy shopping and browsing, visit Cori's website, marvindale.ca