41 Ceramic Spheres

Artist’s Statement:

Each sphere is first formed by the same construction method, it is the control for the activity. The clay’s composition, mass, surface treatment, and firing process are altered in every iteration in an attempt to discover every possibility in the available materials.

Over the course of the past five years, over 60 of these spheres have been built. Some have broken in production and in handling, been sold or given away.

What is compiled in the current field system are the maximum and minimum scales that could be realized by the artist’s hands as the support structure for their construction. Where the forces of physics dictate the scale of objects in space, it is the physics of the artist’s body that dictate the scale of the spheres. Incidentally, these objects occupy the same size range as the majority of balls used in sporting activities. In contrast with their relation to human hands, they echo astronomical bodies.

These spheres serve as both a reminder of being a speck within the cosmos and as being a creator of worlds that can be held within hands. In their production, they are both evidence of the artist’s existence and a check to their own transience and insignificance.

 

About the Artist:

Educated in Environmental Design, Laura is drawn to the physical context which shapes design from the cup to the community center. As a professional designer, her work has spanned from the technical development of upscale commercial lighting to the design and installation of international trade exhibits. Within her expanding ceramic practice, she seeks to push the limits of th material, from the use of multiple building techniques to the modification of the clay and glaze composition. The opportunity to experiment and develop novel processes is embraced in the creation of every piece.