VIDEO: Art's in the Genes

Cut from the same cloth. Dyed from the same batch.

“These two have been thick as thieves since the moment she was born,” said Allison Randall’s mother about her daughter’s relationship with her grandfather Al Baker. 

Both are artists, and looking at their work, it may not be easy to readily connect the two; Randall, 28, being a ceramist and Baker, 85, a painter. But the similarities between their inspirations are steadfast.

Baker’s house - a house which has been passed down through generations - was filled with heirlooms and items from times passed. Amidst the relics, along the walls were the framed pieces which Baker began painting at 58.

At two points in Baker’s life, he was faced with the difficult choice of what to do next. The first time he was affronted by this quandary was upon his return home from World War II.

“They gave me an aptitude test. They came back and said, ‘You should to go to RISD. I was dumbfounded,” said Baker.

Baker brushed off the test results. If he was interested in any art, then music was his passion, and throughout the years the arts dissipated from his daily routine, that is, until the day Baker retired.

“My grandma forced him into art classes,” said Randall.

From there, drawing from historical sites, old postcards and still lifes, Baker has produced at least 60 oil paintings and has recently transitioned to the fast pace that acrylics demand.

His pieces have found their ways into the hallways of the places that they represent including the Providence Picture Frame, Rhode Island Hospital and the barn that was knocked down alongside Baker’s house on County Street, which lives on in his studio.

Randall shares an affinity for the old in her art aesthetic as well. Her grandfather reminisced about his grandchild at eight-years-old discovering clam shells predating the Great Depression left from the former Seekonk Gun Club’s clambakes. 

“I’ve always been interested in the history of our property. I was interested in shells then and I’m still obsessed with them now,” said Randall who recently earned her MFA in Ceramics from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where she now teaches.

Echoing her grandfather, Randall derived inspiration from the past. Her clay sculptures emulated that which is found in the ocean. The former Seekonk resident now teaches ceramics at CCRI. Teaching became a possibility for Randall when a UMD alum saw her art on display at the once Newport Potters Guild, Inc. 

“I’m very lucky that my type of art appeals to people who have a lot of money,” said Randall.

While Baker kicked himself for not honing his skills sooner, when he was given the results of that aptitude test so many years ago, Randall acknowledged her love of art in college. Now, as a teacher, Randall has stressed the practical application of art in the modern work world.

“I enjoy having a skill which is very industrial,” said Randall who had experience in mixed media, “There are a lot of opportunities in the art world. I talk with parents [who are reticent] about their kid’s adopting an art major.”

Watching her grandfather discover art just as her life was beginning and helping new artists start their own paths had led Randall to believe that art is universally attainable, not just attributed to mystical talent.

“Everyone has a chance to be successful [in art class] if you can follow directions and learn the skills. Everyone should try art because it’s part of human nature. Look at cavemen painting pictures on walls. It’s part of humanity. Every person should exercise that urge.”

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