porcelain, size varies, 2008- 2007
colored clay and glaze, various sizes, 2008- 2007
ceramic, slip, stain, glaze, 12.5”x 9”x 2”, 2006
hand-built porcelain, 4 shades of white, size varies, The Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA, installation
hand-built porcelain, 4 shades of white, The Delaware Contemporary Center for the Arts, Wilmington, DE
hand-built porcelain, 4 shades of white, size varies, Gallery in the Garden 9, Orwigsburg, PA
ceramic, slip, stain, glaze, whiskers, size varies, 2008
ceramic, slip, stain, glaze, whiskers, detail, 2008
ceramic, slip, glaze, colored clay, size varies, 2008
ceramic, slip, glaze, colored clay, detail, 2008
Artist Statement
The act of art making involves an innate spirituality that enables me to address the cycle of life and death. As an artist, my work is influenced by qualities observed in nature: the negative space created by naked branches in winter, the path traced by insects in a hollow log, or fossils found in the ground. I try to recreate my experience of such things with clay.
The hands-on quality of working with clay is important to me. Through the manipulation of materials I am allowed to convert emotion and memory into a tactile form. My hands serve as a conduit that transforms emotional and spiritual raw materials into concrete metaphors.
Various formal elements are crucial to my vision. Light and shadow have metaphorical qualities and define space. The repetitions of curvilinear forms intend to create a lively visual field that evokes life energy. The bone-like objects reference fossils and the strata of the life cycle. In my artwork, traces of a history are evident, but the subtler details of a forgotten past entice discovery.
-- Brooke Hine