Paula Cooley

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Title: ARDEA

Year of Creation: 2005

Glaze: Cone 04 glazes and ink

Clay Body: Earthenware

Dimensions: Height 19.5 inches, Width 6.5 inches

Artist's Statement: Vessels and how they define and contain space have always fascinated me. I am attracted by the ambiguities of containment, the possibilities of an enclosed or obscured interior space that may or may not be filled. The suggestion of movement and growth is also key to my ceramic work: I want my pieces to look as if they might grow or dance. Ardea is a coil built and altered vase, fired to cone 04 in oxidation. The crackle surface of the vase is further enhanced by rubbing ink into the crazed glaze. It is organic in appearance reflecting the natural world that is ultimate maker of vessels: bulbs, plants, bodies.