Cindy Chiuchiolo at C Squared Ceramics
In May 2006 I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Ceramics from Maine College of Art.
That fall, until May 2007, I was at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine as a winter resident and intern. I redid their website, did office work and outreach, made work in the studio, and had a few woodfiring opportunities. Much of the work you see here is from those firings.
I am now living in Douglas, Massachusetts. My studio space is in the basement. I have a large slabroller, a kickwheel, shelves, and two electric kilns (one new computer kiln rated for cone ten, one 'fixer upper' to play with). I plan on building a small fastfire wood kiln on the land outside the studio by Spring 2008.
The pottery I produce is one-of-a-kind. My work is both sculptural and functional tiles and pottery. It is almost exclusively made from high-fired stoneware and porcelain clays. I create forms by using both the potter's wheel and hand-building methods. Hand made hump molds, slump molds, and slipcast molds may be used in the process, but never to finish my work. I press, carve, and tool each work individually to create something truly unique.
During the past couple years at school, I developed a love of carving into clay deep releif patterns. This technique enriches my surfaces with organic, yet geometric designs reminicent of Jomon Japanese pottery. My surfaces are highly tactile and enhanced with stains, slips, terra sigillata, and the wood firing process. Love of landscape, shells, plants, and fossils inspire my designs. Each work that I make is an ode to the earth. By enjoying these works, one may celebrate and be inspired by the natural world alongside me.