| She works to create the appearance of fragility and the exposure of raw elements. The fired clay seems naked and fragile, even though it has turned the permanence of stone. Chloë’s work lives at the crossroads of Asian and Western sensibilities, having lived in both places and multicultural parents. Each piece is a result of the play between the refined with the raw, the elegant with the natural, classical proportions meet wabi-sabi philosophy resulting in pieces that contain subtle tension.
Chloë finds that making objects by hand in today’s world is deeply rewarding because of the intimacy experienced with each piece, as it is formed. Her work is a dance and conversation with the earth —a raw, active act of creation and improvisation. The pieces in this show are hand-coiled, a technique used since the beginning of human life, examples of which date from prehistoric times. This slow methodical building process lends itself well to moments when the mind disappears and the energy of improvisation can be channeled. This method develops a deep listening to the clay as well as responding to it. With each piece, she also strives to achieve a sense of beauty, responding keenly to the need of the soul to be elevated through art.
Chloë graduated from Swarthmore College having fallen in love with claywork, thanks to her inspiring professor Syd Carpenter and generous teacher Doug Herren. Over the past 20 odd years she has kept up a studio practice. She continues to take intensives, especially in France (Atelier Terra, Arts Techniques et Céramiques, Scalabre et Mercier), where traditional techniques and modern design particularly appeal to her sensibilities. She has enjoyed her work as a technician and teacher for the Claymobile and her private lessons to children and adults. |
