This piece is made with Earthenware, Mason Stain, Fishing Line
Size: Approx. 10 in x 10 in x 3 in
Shipping within the United States: $18
Proceeds from the sale of this object will benefit the artist, and Artaxis, a 501(c)3 non-profit art organization. Please contact us at contactartaxis@gmail.com if you would like to ship this object out of the US, or if you have any questions.
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Artist Statement:
My work is often born from one of the following experiences: an indescribable feeling of excitement; a nagging contradiction; a need to share something that I cannot yet explain; an obsession; a question or series of questions; a desire to respond to or reflect on a thought, feeling, or event; the recognition of something poignant or absurd; a deep pain; the experience of misunderstanding.
The systems of construction I use are adapted and adopted from historical craft disciplines. Although the unit or material may change from one work to another, these systems highlight the interdependence of each unit upon the whole. I use simple tools and work in low-tech ways to keep evidence of the hand and the human embedded in the work. I am interested in repetition and slow work, in the ways in which craft and practice are more than skills of the hands – these are philosophical and radical tools that focus my attention and shape my imagination.
The studio is an ecosystem of my making: I re-purpose as much as possible (my cast glass and clay are reclaimed materials or mixed in small batches and reused until no longer viable and I often use and harvest clay locally). I design to reduce my energy and material consumption and to consider the cyclical nature of materials and of making. I make. I unmake or, at times, I feel unmade. Living is a dynamic, daily process. Life is tenuous and thrilling, delicate and precarious, simple and complicated, wry and serious. I ask my work to reflect these realities.
Biography
Casey Whittier received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
She is interested in the metaphorical and philosophical power of visual art and the ways in which the ceramic material creates direct connections between the geology of the earth, basic human needs, and complex metaphysical desires. Repetitive processes and systems of reliance are often used as metaphors for our interconnectedness.
Whittier teaches ceramics and social practice at the Kansas City Art Institute and is a Studios Inc Fellow. Whittier is passionate about sustainability, food systems, and environmental stewardship. To this end, she works with The Land Institute as a participant in their Silphium Civic Science Community, where research into new perennial and sustainable food and oil seed production is ongoing.
Casey currently serves as President for Artaxis.org.
Check out Casey's works on: https://artaxis.org/artist/casey-whittier