claire madill in the studio!

my work currently falls into two categories: slipcast porcelain vintage jars and accessories (earrings and brooches).  both are derived from vintage glass -- at some point a year and a half ago, my thrift-store-eyes turned exclusively towards the stuff.  the kitchen cupboards of our grandparents were filled with things that we just don't use or need much anymore -- canning jars and pickle dishes, in particular, have lent me an almost endless source of inspiration.  the idea of 'value' comes into play a lot for me as a result. 

in order to use these found objects for my ceramic purposes, i have become a moldmaker. (every new mold is declared to be my 'prettiest', so i'm definitely getting better all the time! the promise of a good mold to work with makes the process not so daunting anymore...)  the best part of making a new mold of the pattern from the bottom of a vintage pickle dish, for example, is seeing the 'negative' of the pattern in the plaster. even though your eyes can look at the glass original and see a diamond impression, the 'negative' of the same is always a fantastic surprise!  so then i'll have to make a mold of the mold to be able to use both 'positive' and negative' images for my accessories...  this idea has been translated into my newest earring designs -- i've been calling them 'same same but different'.  when you look at the pair of earrings, they are definitely a pair -- no question.  but looking closer, you discover that one is the positive and one is the negative.