STANDARDS

Core Art Standards: VA1, VA8, VA10

CCSS: R1, R2, R4

Not Your Grandma's Ceramics

How do artists convey new ideas using a traditional art form?

Woody De Othello (b. 1991), The will to make things happen, 2021, Ceramic and glaze. Courtesy of the artist and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco. Photo: Raul Valverde/ On White Wall Photography.

How does De Othello communicate emotion?

Children hugging cuddly puppies and kittens. Flowers that glisten with dew on their petals. Cottages that could be home to Hansel and Gretel. You’re likely to find these sweet ceramic statues, known as collectibles, in your grandma’s curio cabinet.

The fine artists featured here have taken the idea of sculpting figures, animals, and objects to a new level, conveying original ideas. And their works are unlikely to end up in your typical curio cabinet!

Pot of Emotion

Many potters make vessels to hold water, perfume, and other liquids. American artist Woody De Othello challenges this convention, designing vessels to hold emotions.

In his 2021 sculpture The will to make things happen, above, De Othello explores the feelings people experienced while stuck at home during the Covid-19 pandemic. The TV, radiator, and mirror look worn and familiar. Giant hands hug biomorphic vessels that have ears, noses, and legs, as if saying, “It will all be OK.”

When creating works like this, De Othello says, he thinks about the “figures or emotions that live adjacent to the sculptures.”

Courtney Mattison (b. 1985), Revolve, 2021. Glazed stoneware and porcelain. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Mark Olencki.

How does Mattison use color to show an effect of climate change?

Sea Change

Courtney Mattison’s 2021 Revolve, above, is a swirl of ideas. Close inspection of the wall relief—a sculpture mounted on the wall—reveals shells, tubes, and other formations found in a coral reef. Mattison says the “swirling design” echoes the way water connects us.

The artist works with stoneware and porcelain, and uses tools to create varied textures. Mattison glazed the outer ring in white to represent the “coral bleaching on reefs stricken by climate change.”

Mattison studied marine ecology and ceramics, and her art is grounded in science. She hopes her work raises awareness and inspires conservation.

Shary Boyle (b. 1972), Peacock Spider, 2020. Stoneware, porcelain, glazes, lustre, acrylic nails by Justin Cappelletti of Pinky’s. Courtesy of the artist.

How does Boyle comment on social media?

Public Persona

In the late 2010s, the peacock spider became a viral image on social media. If a male peacock spider does not perform a dance that impresses the female it is courting, the female might kill it. In her 2020 Peacock Spider, above, Canadian artist Shary Boyle uses her own version of the spider to prompt viewers to question how they perform their lives on social media. “The distinction between personal integrity and public persona has become dangerously blurred,” she explains. The spider is made of stoneware—one of the roughest forms of ceramics—and dances on a hand that’s made of porcelain—the finest form of ceramics. Acrylic nails crafted by artist Justin Cappelletti decorate the tips of the fingers. The hand is tense, as if ready to attack with its sharp nails the moment it is bored.

Rose B. Simpson (b. 1983), 7th Generation, 2017. Ceramic, leather, and steel. Courtesy of Chiaroscuro. Photo: Addison Doty.

What ideas does Simpson explore?

Past Meets Present

New Mexican artist Rose B. Simpson was born into a family of sculptors. Simpson continues the traditions of her Pueblo ancestors, who have been making ceramics since the 6th century.

In her 2017 work 7th Generation, above, Simpson uses some of the same methods as her ancestors. She also uses her own process, which she calls “slap slab.” She layers the clay, resulting in a highly textured surface.

Simpson hopes works like 7th Generation help viewers look at the world around them and inside themselves. She sees masks as a way of representing ancestors and as “reminders that we’re never alone.”

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