Cate Crowell

Ceramicist

Throughout my life I have always been moving. From North Carolina to Washington, and ultimately Ohio; I have faced many changes. Yet in every state, there was always art as escape. From kindergarten to 12th grade, clay has been my medium of choice. No matter what I made, even back in elementary school, it always involved animals and it hasn’t changed since. Although I have explored a variety of ceramic styles such as throwing on the wheel, the human bust, and vessel building, nothing has inspired me like the form of an animal.
Animals have a perceived helplessness and vulnerability that is unlike how we see people. Humans are much more likely to be cruel to each other than to an animal who is considered to “not know any better”. So to display very complex human traits through animals I feel breaks a barrier with these emotions that we don't allow ourselves to show. These intense moments captured I believe are best shown through a ceramic form. Being in the presence of a full- sized animal that I may never see in real life is thrilling to me and simply cannot be done with other media. After studying the animal’s anatomy and bringing the animal to existence through clay there’s a connection formed that I haven’t experienced before when creating other forms of art, a lifelike quality that gives each character tangible depth and emotion.
My art has been a way of processing my perception of specific events or emotions then capturing them in an animal form. I hope to continue making art through these animals that are truly an extension of myself throughout life and look forward to progressing my skills as a ceramicist.