Madison Carson

I’m interested in what gets dismissed as ordinary—and how that dismissal often maps onto femininity, care, and craft.

Through my work, I reclaim space for play and delight, harkening to the uninhibited joy of young girlhood. I challenge the shame often associated with femininity by reconnecting to a time of unapologetic expression. Inspired by activities like cake piping, beading, gardening, quilting, and mosaics—girly, frilly, and silly—I reframe practices historically considered trivial or unserious. These labor-intensive forms carry emotional weight, memory, and material fluency, offering a language through which to question assumptions about gendered labor, femininity, and worth.

My sculptures are built slowly through repeated acts of coiling and pinching. Their surfaces expand with hand-made tiles, bright colors, and sentimental iconography: flowers, hearts, stars, geese, quilt blocks. I draw from botanical forms, childhood textiles, and historic wallpaper and textile designs, transforming decorative motifs into layered ceramic works that celebrate beauty and abundance. I’m drawn to the beginner’s hand, the joyful imperfection, and the curiosity of things made with love.

With a background in both ceramics and environmental biology, my practice is grounded in a reverence for pattern, repetition, and the everyday. My work creates a tactile environments that evoke softness, memory, and exuberance. By centering the decorative, I aim to honor the visual richness and material creativity rooted in the history of women’s work—and to create space for pleasure on its own terms.

Madison Carson grew up in the Boston area and spent much of her childhood in the Berkshires, where she developed a deep appreciation for the natural world. She earned a BS in Ecology and a BFA in Ceramics from the University of North Carolina Asheville in 2022. As a McCullough Fellow in 2020, she collaborated with the North Carolina Arboretum to study box turtles’ home mapping behaviors while creating educational art videos for campers. From 2021 to 2022, she was an Odyssey Resident Artist. In 2025, she received her MFA in Ceramics from Ohio University. Madison’s work investigates the histories of decorative arts, reimagining traditional notions of women’s work, beauty, and craft. Her background in environmental biology and ceramics informs her fascination with patterns, often drawing inspiration from natural and geometric forms.