emerging artist: Kathryn Mitchell

by | Jun 8, 2013 | call for entry, emerging artist, job posting, monday morning eye candy, movie day, residency opportunity, show us your influences, technical tuesday

Bio
Kathryn Mitchell is a young emerging ceramic artist,
raised on the Isle of Man and trained in Australia.  She works with
stoneware and porcelain clays, in both wheel throwing and slip casting
techniques.  Kathryn is fascinated with the temperamental and
unpredictable yet permanent qualities of ceramics, and aims to combine
traditional techniques with contemporary forms. Her delicate
hand-painted designs reflect the vibrancy of her adopted Australian
homeland, combined with fond memories of her British birthplace. Kathryn
has participated in exhibitions and events across Australia, including
Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
 

Statement

In my work I explore connections
and journeys. Water is also an endless source of inspiration for me; I
grew up on the Isle of Man, a small rain-soaked British island with the
sea less than an hour’s drive in any direction and criss-crossed by
rivers and lakes. Amongst art nouveau inspired designs, my hand painted
illustrations are influenced by Florence and the Machine lyrics, Frida
Kahlo paintings and my fascination with the connections we form with the
people in our lives, be them fleeting or enduring. Wheel thrown
porcelain is a wonderful canvas on which to tell my stories.

emerging artist: Denise Joyal

by | May 25, 2013 | call for entry, emerging artist, job posting, monday morning eye candy, movie day, residency opportunity, show us your influences, technical tuesday

Artist’s Statement

Swirling gases surround the molten forms,
moving through and around them, seeking escape. The tumbling trapped
gases enter forcefully, slowing to ignite and escape the oxygen deprived
atmosphere. Fire and air combine to birth new formations of stone from
ancient eroded particles. Open forms with clean lines are indicative of
my work. Stoneware and Porcelain, once great rock formations now
decomposed, are reborn into complex forms with clean lines and
atmospheric glazing.

Negative space is considered in conjunction with positive to form both
functional and sculptural vessels. Lao Tsu says, “Shape clay into a
vessel. It is the space inside that makes it useful. Cut doors and
windows for a room. It is the holes which make it useful. Therefore
profit comes from what is there. Usefulness from what is not there.” The
truth lies within our selves, within our art, inside our bodily
vessels. We look inside to discover our true nature. When we bring forth
our emptiness and make it useful, we share our souls in the everyday.
My artistic goal is to bring the viewer to find meaning in presence and
absence, creating an appreciation of both the form that is there and the
space that remains open.