Raymond Rorke- bottle

Clay Studio Staff member Raymond Rorke - in addition to being an amazing graphic designer - is a highly skilled ceramic artist. Additionally, Raymond teaches a very popular hand-building class at TCS and spends time creating his own work on the third floor of the studio. We are grateful for all of Raymond's talents helping make Mud Ball 2022 a memorable evening!

Retail price $800

Dimensions: 10 x 10 x 17

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• Shipping is NOT included in the winning bid.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.

Donated by Raymond Rorke

Artist Statement
As an artist I work with the rich vocabularies of clay, not only to give shape and voice to new ideas, but to add to the language of artifacts. I'm fascinated by how clay can articulate any object or material, including itself. Clay's long and unique ability to be both real and symbolic in our everyday lives - integrating what's literal and metaphoric, what's natural and man-made - has, for me, boundless poetic opportunities for transformation.

About

This bottle was made during a phase of my throwing when the closed form began to consume my interests. Most thrown functional vessels are made as open forms so that their contents are easily accessible, and if they are closed it is usually with a lid that can be removed. But something about the interior of a vessel that could close in on itself intrigued me. There was the silence inside, the darkness, the mystery, the complete oneness. This bottle became part of my journey towards achieving that, and along the way I was inspired by the work of Toshiko Takaezu, who would drop a bead of clay inside before closing her forms so that they would rattle when moved, breaking the silence.