Artist Statement
My aim is to create progressive, dynamic work that engages with the reality of the place where I live and the people I live among. My biggest thrill is when I realize I have created something the likes of which I have never seen before.
By “inventing” ceramic objects, such as letter holders or antler buckets, that have practical as well as aesthetic purposes, I am attempting to create a space of my own within the ceramic field. I feel that by marrying local materials, such as naturally shed antlers and vintage horse bridles, with my ceramic vessels, I am both upcycling and creating something that functions at a “higher” level. At the same time I engage the public and my northern community in the act of having a daily relationship with handmade objects.
It is a somewhat uncommon existence I lead here in this northern oilfield town. I am inspired by the irony of my situation, and by nostalgia, popular and northern culture. I explore these inspirations in my work, juxtaposing ceramic techniques against each other while making objects that function in an extraordinary way. I am compelled to challenge conventional ceramics and myself by mixing ideas from pop culture against historical tradition, and vintage aesthetics against contemporary. This creates a sort of bricolage, a complicated and layered presentation that defies traditional notions of authenticity and, even, beauty.
My work assembles diverse elements that celebrate and investigate the nuances of contemporary life, pop and northern culture, the art of making things by hand, and the practice of incorporating interesting and useful ceramic objects in everyday life. Art should be all around us, not just in museums.
shannonbutlerceramics.blogspot.ca
