Carolle Blackwell
let the beauty that you love be what you do there are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
Jelaluddin Rumi
As a sculptor I came to clay late, having worked in paper-mâchè, fabric and driftwood for many years. I like clays easy ability to take marks and textures that build up a sense of historical evidence that gives the piece a timeless appeal.
My sculptures are made using very direct methods; pinching, coiling and slab rolling. I deliberately keep the technical aspects as simple as possible, so that my attention can be given to my intuitive way of working, and I can respond to the clay and the idea that is in my head and heart more fully.
The work is contemporary, yet at the same time draws on deep unconscious memories that surface in the process of creating. The poet Seamus Heaney's lines convey this feeling, I have always listened for poems, sometimes like bodies come out of the bog, almost complete, seeming to have been laid down a long time ago. Surfacing with a touch of mystery.
My sculptures are influenced by the ancient cultures of Crete, Egypt, Mexico and South America. Artifacts that were made by people thousands of years ago are mysterious and powerful, and connect me now, in the 21 st century, with a history that is unknowable, but which feeds the imagination.
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