(Dis)embodied: Topography and Temporality
My thesis body of work is a series of large earthenware vessels referencing forms found in the human body. Like us, they are just merely vessels for the possibilities each of us hold inside ourselves. The matter we handle today as ceramicists comes from a variety of different time periods and stages of decomposition, each carrying its own unique congealment of history. I think of my pieces as a dialogue between myself and the material, the preservation of a moment in time told through the body of the clay; it is a residue that displays the impression of its creator. Every coil and pinch added is a documentation of my identity imprinted within the clay, and the addition of my own personal voice within its history. Each piece is atmospherically fired, allowing for nature to take back ownership of the clay given to it.
Bio
Libby Scutt is a ceramist from the red clay hills of Western Pennsylvania. In her work, Scutt questions the subjectivity of land, sustainability, and the ethics of clay as she seeks to find new ways of relating to the world. Through the process of coiling and pinching, her work is wholly unique, each piece imprinted with her own personal identity. Much like how antique clocksmith leaves witness marks, Scutt’s pieces are a blueprint of their own construction. She considers her work to be a log of interaction between human and clay, a symbiotic relationship between potter, pot and environment.
