Artist Statement
Gillian Mitchell
I believe my ceramic work bridges the gap between sculptural and functional. There has to be enough visual interest through familiar and unfamiliar, or unrecognizable textures, to allow my functional work to come to life. These textures are inspired by the natural aspects of beautiful places I have travelled to in Canada and around the world.
Nearest to my home in Calgary, the Grassi Lakes hike in the Rocky Mountains in Canmore has provided plentiful visual stimulation that comes across in my ceramics. Most inspiring are the rock formations on the hike up, the brightly coloured pools at the top, and the lush vegetation on the way down.
Moving farther away from the prairies and to the ocean, the living fluid life-forms of coral reefs have always been an inspiration. Repeated patterns like those found while snorkeling in Costa Rica, Mexico and Dominican Republic constantly surface in my work.
Though the inspiration for much of my work comes from around the world, it is still grounded in the prairies. Much of the textures I use to replicate mountains and coral reefs are directly from the grasslands in which I grew up.
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