This beautiful modern volume presents the work of 30 contemporary artists who have turned to clay to shape their most innovative ideas into stunning works of art. From cups shaped like crystals to a tree trunk made of porcelain and stoneware planters painted to look like ladies, popular curator and blogger Kate Singleton collects here whimsical pieces with narrative, graphic, curious, and organic qualities that blur the line between fine art, design, and craft. Featuring a unique package with a die-cut, foil-stamped cover, this book is a vital guide to an evolving medium and a thoughtful present for those interested in the future of art and craft.
This allowed me to take my ceramics skills as a craft and turn that into art. There are a lot of ideas for us artists but if you are a beginner this is not for you, it is just page after page profiles of artists and their creation. You won’t even find material on techniques here. It is rather philosophical. You can go to it every few months to get reminded of what is possible with this medium.
I guess I expected something more... contemporary. While the artworks shown in the book are interesting, they all seem to fit a certain style or niche. Illustrative & story telling. Fun. Cute. No massive chunks, no abstracts but all cutesy, small plates, animal and human figures. There were a few exceptions, but I can't rate the book nor the title based on the few which actually were contemporary. If this book had a different title, say, "Illustrative ceramicists", I would probably have given this a different rating.
This is.a great curated selection of ceramicists with an emphasis on illustration and imagery on the surface of ceramics. If you’re looking for the more typical glaze treatments then you won’t get that from this book. I loved that each artist features had a distinct point of view. Shop in Anthropologie ? Then you are probably familiar with Leah Goren and Kate Blaygvad both of whom are featured. This is a great book to have on hand for inspiration especially if you like to draw on clay.