Given that we’re new, I thought it would be fitting to properly introduce you to our artists. In an effort to not overwhelm, I’ve chosen one point of view to connect artists in smaller groupings. Please meet four here and I’ll follow up with an introduction to eight more in two follow-up emails shortly.
I personally find it fascinating to know the various paths that people take to arrive at a certain moment in their lives or careers. What influences or experiences are they bringing forth that influence what they’re doing now? These four artists have had previous experience working with other materials such as textiles, metal and wood and each bring forth a beautifully unique perspective to their ceramic practice.
Julie Moon
Toronto, Canada
Julie began her education in fibre arts before switching to ceramics in her last year of school. The ceramic medium is perfect for Julie as it allows her to embrace her love of building forms as well as her love of surface design. In this series Julie plays with lines on the surface of the vessel.
Blending coils of clay onto the outside of traditional forms, these 3 dimensional lines become shallow walls that blur the lines between the decoration and the body of the vessel. Instead of working on the volume of the vessel itself, Julie creates volume on the exterior surface. I love this unique approach that allows the artist to continue exploring the exterior after the initial form is developed.
Caroline Gray
London, UK
Caroline initially trained as a textile designer before completing her MA in Fine Art. The flat pattern or template remains part of her process as she continues to be fascinated with creating a three dimensional object from a two dimensional vision. Slab building allows the artist to realize this vision.
Each piece evolves intuitively from its initial form as the artist continues to alter the shape and form resulting in works that are brilliantly unique in their subtlety. Caroline’s beautiful sculptures are grouped together in whites or a masterful combination of colours.
Julie Deault (Musette Céramiques)
Toronto, Canada
Julie spent many years weaving and working with textiles in Montreal and silversmithing in Mexico before turning to clay and discovering her passion for ceramics. The artist embraces the beauty of the raw material and follows the clay’s natural movement to discover its natural form, which may turn out to be very different from what she first expected.
Each piece has its own unique personality and Julie prefers things a little skewed, crooked and a bit rough as these qualities reveal the true naturalness and beauty of the piece. I love how Julie embraces her ceramic practice with a focus on the material vs a predetermined outcome.
Ido Ferber
Tokyo, Japan
Ido discovered ceramics as a teenager and later learned small carpentry and apprenticed in an artisan metal shop before studying industrial design in university. Ido is now pursuing a research master’s degree in ceramic craft and what I love about his work is his openness to experimentation and utilizing techniques and skills honed while working with other materials.
The artist believes that craft and design is multidisciplinary and fluid and in this series for Vessels + Sticks, Ido experimented with his fascination of stitching materials together. After much research the artist has managed to develop a stitching process that is closer to the work performed on leather vs ceramics. The stainless steel stitches contribute visual interest to these vessels giving us a sense of the intentional unity of separate entities.
