interstices
Interstices is a body of work that explores the spaces in between. The cool, blue-gray porcelain forms are hollow but non-functional and range in size from 3" - 20" tall and 2" - 5" wide. They often begin round on the wheel, then the cylinders are altered when wet and made taller with strips of porcelain. The openings give the illusion of access to interiors. The wedges nestle together in pairs; the overlap of unadorned planes, curves and refined edges creating shadows and slices of space.
plumbs
Wostrel presents a series of hand-thrown porcelain cones—clean-lined industrial plumb bobs accessorized with elegant designs, angora tufts and dressed in tutus reminiscent of Degas’ dancer. -- Lydia Moyer, Professor of Art, University of Virginia
I have been working on the plumb-bob series since 2007. Forms one would expect to be slip-cast are instead first formed on the wheel, then carved and trimmed with painstaking attention to detail. Their polished, satiny, eggshell surfaces are incised, etched and perforated. Areas of concentrated pattern and design, drawn from 14th century Persian tile, activate the surface, breaking up an otherwise uninterrupted smoothness of visual experience. The accessories - florals, piercings, angora felt - soften and girlify the cool, machined quality of the plumbs, intensifying inherent formal tensions.
The plumbs are suspended off the wall, nestled in arcs of stainless steel.
Plumb Chubbette
big binks
This is a series of over-sized porcelain pacifiers. I spent many long hours longing for my daughter to take a pacifier when she was a babe. I spent a lot of time with them and studied them closely. I became obsessed with the form and have spent the past three years exploring it’s presentation—the shapes, surfaces, colors and materials. The binks are formed on the wheel, then carved, trimmed, etched, incised, pierced, painted and sometimes glazed or given a dip of encaustic. Unglazed surfaces are polished to a soft, satiny, eggshell sheen. The paisley and floral patterns reference 14th century Persian tile designs.
The world of the Big Binks comprises encaustic, glaze, beeswax, angora felt, stainless steel, and rubber. I want the Binks to be sensually appealing, to emanate an attractive lusciousness. While at the same time, the fur accessorizing may produce a sense of aversion or repulsion (ala Maret Oppenheim's Fur Cup).
Big Binks are about 6" x 6" - just a little too big for sucking.
