Mary Alison Lucas
Fascinated by Synergy, Symbiosis, Parasitic Attraction, Repulsion
defined relationships in the natural world, from everyday human interaction down to microscopic bacterial dynamics, from entomology to botany, I aim to capture moments of attraction and repulsion, exhaustion and renewal, of beauty and grotesque.
My process is rich in confliction, with the intention to blur the boundaries between structure and surface. Such an act is where the finish nails are infiltrating the stoneware structure, then replacing the holes it creates with itself, initially making vulnerable then resolves into dependency and reliance. The liquid clay slip coats and reinforces this metal bond and the layers of glazes strengthen the overall structure. Throughout the process I am contorting, pressing, slicing, smashing, stabbing, prodding and stitching while nurturing, supporting, petting, protecting, soothing and coating the materials. After being manipulated and pushed to their stress threshold the sculptures emerge.
