ceramics

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Art

Ceramic Busts Overgrown With Twisted Vines and Colorful Flowers by Jess Riva Cooper

Jess Riva Cooper (previously) produces smooth ceramic busts, the mouths agape rather than closed in smile or silent contemplation. Tangled vines and rosebuds sprout from their mouths, and in some cases leaves from plants pop from the busts’ noses, engulfing the faces in their entirety. In each bust the plants are used as both ornamentation and methods of destruction, forming crowns on the subjects’ heads as they wrap themselves around the neck in a threatening gesture.

These classic sculptures with a vegetative twist were inspired by deteriorating economic and environmental climates in places such as Detroit, Michigan where homes have been swallowed by the plants around them, their locations reclaimed by nature. It is this thin line between life and death that Cooper imbues into her human forms, nature springing and wrapping around her white figures.

The Toronto-based artist and educator received her MFA in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design and currently teaches at Sheridan College in the craft and design program. (via Hi Fructose)

Art

Ceramic Coral Reefs by Courtney Mattison Draw Attention to Earth’s Changing Oceans

Doubling as an artist and ocean advocate, Courtney Mattison (previously) produces large-scale ceramic installations that draw attention to conservation of our planet’s seas. Her latest installation “Aqueduct” showcases hundreds of porcelain sea creatures including anemones, sponges, and coral sprouting from a porcelain air duct. The piece asks us to imagine the plight of these undersea creatures as tropical sea temperatures begin to rise, asking where they might migrate to once their homes have been rendered uninhabitable.

In addition to large-scale installations, Mattison also sculpts more intimate vignettes. Her series “Hope Spots” depicts areas in our seas that are critical to the overall health of the ecosystem. Each of the sculptures is a representation of one of these spots as identified by Mattison’s longtime hero and marine biologist Dr. Sylvia Earle.

The Denver-based artist studied marine ecology and ceramics at Skidmore College and received a Master of Arts degree in environmental studies from Brown University. Last year she was named one of the top 100 “Ocean Heroes” by Origin Magazine. Her most recent exhibition is “Sea Change” currently at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art through April 17, 2016. You can see more of Mattison’s finished and in-progress installations on her Instagram.

Craft

Ceramics Imprinted with Patterns of Vintage Typewriter Letters by Laura C. Hewitt

Ceramic artist Laura C. Hewitt creates a wide range of cups, plates, and other ceramic objects imprinted with letters and numbers from old typewriter keys. The Alaska-based artist utilizes fragments from mathematical formulas, programming languages, and other science-influenced designs, all carefully applied with a variety of typewriter letters in black ink to create one-of-a-kind pieces. Hewitt shares about her craft:

Most of my work has been influenced by the dichotomies and juxtapositions of rural Alaskan living. I’m particularly interested in exploring the intersections between technology and nature, art and craft, destruction and creation. As inspiration, I look for the magical within the mundane, provoke thoughtfulness with the practical and animate the pragmatic with mischievousness.

The typographical pieces are really just the tip of the iceberg, you can see many more of her wilderness and tech-inspired ceramics in her Etsy shop. (via Culture N Lifestyle)

Art Design Music

Music and Sound Vibrations 3D Printed Into Ceramic Vessels

Bouncing rhythmically to a deep beat, Studio van Broekhoven’s 3D printer produces ceramic vessels scored by sound. The objects spins as clay is applied in response to the amplified noise, forging visual markings into the clay by way of audio wavelengths. The project, “Solid Vibration” was produced by spatial sound designer Ricky van Broekhoven and designer Olivier van Herpt, who have been co-producing the objects that appear almost like woven baskets.

The project developed out of the collaborators’ combined wish to host Broekhoven’s “noisescapes” as solidified objects that could physically represent his abstract tones. For each of the vessels, a specially constructed speaker rig is mounted below the printing platform to emit a low sound that will influence the printing. “A moment in time, a song, a sound, they can now become objects that encapsulate the moment forever,” explains van Herpt’s website.

You can hear more of van Broekhoven’s work here, while taking a glance at more of van Herpt’s ceramics here. (via The Creator’s Project)

Amazing Craft

A Camera Mounted to a Potter’s Wheel Puts Ceramics in a Dizzying New Perspective

Watching a ceramist work at a potter’s wheel is a mesmerizing and nearly meditative process as the wet clay slowly morphs into shape, spinning so quickly it loses definition almost completely. Eric Landon from Tortus Copenhagen was curious to see what things might look like from the clay’s perspective and mounted a camera to the edge of a potter’s wheel as he worked on a vase. It’s fascinating to see the world become a blur while the clay and wheel remains in sharp focus. If you liked this, also watch this video of Mikhail Sadovnikov as he draws unusual designs with leftover slip (clay sludge). (via The Kid Should See This)

Art

Surrealist Sculptures by Ellen Jewett Effortlessly Combine Animals With Their Fantastical Surroundings

Ellen Jewett (previously) effortlessly blends animals with elements from their environments, creating ceramic pieces that often balance unexpected species together in a singular piece. Each work is highly detailed—flowers, leaves, and vines wrapping themselves around animals from coyotes to chameleons.

By focusing on negative spaces within the animals’ bodies, Jewett strips away the weight of her objects, a quality that is usually inextricably linked to the medium of sculpture. She constructs her ceramic pieces using an additive technique, beginning with the innermost parts of the sculptures and layering outward. As periphery components of the animals’ surroundings are added to the piece, a narrative begins to form. These additional pieces Jewett describes as being beautiful, grotesque, or fantastical and add to the object’s exploration of domestication, death, growth, visibility, and wildness.

Jewett’s materials are just as important as her process—only using clay, paints, finishes, and glazes that are free from toxic properties. In addition to being toxic free, she also attempts to source locally and naturally whenever possible. You can keep updated on the Canadian artist’s new work on her Facebook page, and several new pieces are currently available.