Lisa Dickson
My Aunt Lisa is an artist, a curator, and my closest confidante. She is a source of inspiration and honest advice. She is Mary Clifford’s youngest daughter. Lisa graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Graphics. She has worked at several galleries, most recently Galerie Michael on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. She worked there for over 15 years until the Covid pandemic. There is no better person to go to a museum with- she knows all the lingo, she points out details that most people overlook. She has a keen eye for beauty, a unique style and a fun personality.
Lisa says she started working with ceramics because there was a community studio down the street from her house in Manhattan Beach. She wanted a creative outlet, tried it, and got hooked. She has a wonderful garage studio where she works- there’s always a work in progress or an experiment on the table. Scrap books and reference materials in manilla folders with clay powder fingerprints all over them. My uncle Scott has an augmented reality (AR) computer workstation, in the middle of the garage as well. Its cluttered but comfortable. Lisa sits with the door open to her patio garden, her pug Otis pushes a wet tennis ball against her foot, the southern california weather is always perfect, the flowers are always in bloom and it always feels good. Its a cool set up.
Lisa’s house is filled with art that she has collected over the years. She loves anything quirky, weird, or unusual, or that makes her laugh.
I love the detail in Lisa’s sgraffito. The Clifford technical technique genes are apparent, but Lisa’s subjects are more playful, imaginative and dreamlike. I love her ‘busy’ pieces and her linework. Animals- dogs, crows, and dragonflies are common subjects in her work.
Lisa was the person who bought me my first portfolio when I was trying to launch my career as a graphic designer. I got a job a month later. Thanks Lisa!
She was the one who suggested that I try doing Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ in beads. She got me to break free of the hexagonal-geometric-patterns that I had gotten comfortable with. Thanks Lisa!
Lisa and Scott flew to Austin last year for my first solo art show during the East Austin Studio Tour. Thanks Lisa and Scott!
Lisa has commissioned two beaded skulls and purchased the second deer skull that I beaded. BIG ASS THANKS Lisa!
Lisa and I are really close. She currently lives in Manhattan Beach California but is planning to move back to Texas next year- this is great news because she will be a lot closer to me and my family, but I will miss taking trips to visit her and my uncle Scott in LA.
I have so many great memories of artistic/creative activities and outings with Lisa. My favorite is the ‘07 LA architecture tour that Lisa and Scott planned for me. We drove around LA all day looking at historic buildings. The Bradbury building, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Eames House, the Hollyhock House. My uncle Scott and I hopped the fence of a Frank Lloyd Wright House that was in the middle of a renovation! The highlight of the day was when Scott Jumped the fence at Frank Gehry’s house and knocked on the door to see if Frank was home. I was terrified. I was standing on the sidewalk, and I could not see what was going on, but someone answered the door and I heard Scott say “Hi, my nephew is a huge fan of Frank Gehry, do you think we could get an autograph?” I heard the woman reply “let me go see what kind of mood he’s in”. A minute later a window on the second floor of the house opens and she says “what’s his name?!”. A minute later Scott comes back out to the street with a signed sketch from Frank Fuckin-Gehry! It was so cool. Such an amazing day.
