HARRISTON – The works of Fordwich-based ceramic artist Carol Bradley will be on display at the Minto Arts Council from Oct. 3 to 26.
The artist’s reception will be held on Oct. 3 from 6:30 to 8pm at the Harriston library on the second floor.
Her work has been shown both nationally and internationally, including exhibitions in the USA, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, and Taiwan.
In much of her work, she uses the clay vessel to explore human’s inevitable and necessary relationship with the natural world.
Handbuilt, organic and irregular in form, these vessels make reference to natural objects such as gourds, seed pods or cocoons.
Their earthy rough surfaces evoke the greens, browns and rusts of rock, tree bark and lichen, while their thin-walled fragility and presentation – hanging, or simply balanced – remind viewers of the delicate balance found in nature.
At the same time, the container-like forms refer to domestic and ritual function and recall the history of early utensils and containers, which were found directly in nature or made with very simple technologies.
In addition to her studio artwork, Bradley has been involved in many public and community art projects.
She was Kitchener’s Artist in Residence in 1996, and received the Kitchener-Waterloo Arts Award for Visual Arts in 2006.
Together with her partner, Tilman Lichter, she ran an art tile studio, Rivertile, from 2001 to 2011 in Kitchener.
Bradley moved to Howick in 2012 where she and Tilman are renovating a 1860 house in the village of Fordwich.
During the school year she gives clay workshops for the Foundation for Education, and has volunteered as a clay teacher at Howick Central School.
In 2016, a collaborative tile mural involving the students and staff at the school was completed and installed at the main entrance of the building.
For more information contact info@mintoartscouncil.ca or call 519-338-2497.
