ceramics
Ceramics (2022)
These new ceramic sculptural works are a reflection of biodiversity and vitality, capturing natural elements in various stages of life. During these “in-between” days, the word I have been thinking about most is Vitality. What is vital? What is alive? Watching seemingly dead or slumbering woods, what will spring forth? What is the hidden potential, the hidden life that lies beneath? Clay, in its seemingly unalive state with endless potential, is the perfect medium for expressing metamorphosis and vitality.
In the Husks, Wildflowers, and Blossoms sculptures, I am re-identifying vitality and purposefulness by turning a fully functional, traditionally-formed vessel into a completely new entity. Beginning with a wheel-thrown vessel, I deconstruct and reconstruct until a newly vital form is conceived – one of a shedded skin, a husk of a previously ripe fruit, or a wildflower – no longer existing for a functional purpose, yet expressing it’s own state of being and beauty.
Nature teaches us everything about resilience and celebration of life cycles. Did you ever look at bare branches and wonder what state of life they are in? Whether they are dead, or dying, ghosts or skeletons of trees, or if they will miraculously bloom once again? The Brambles sculptures reflect bare winter branches, tangled and melding together, when you're not quite sure what state of life they hold. They are constructed using the traditional method of hand-pulling a functional ceramic handle, intentionally leaving the mark of the fingers imbedded into each pull. These “handles” are then formed into a brambly tangle and then glazed using specific formulas that change tone or “break” over the textures to illuminate indications of the hand.
