Artist Melanie Sherman works out of Kansas City, Missouri. Originally a graphic designer, Sherman received her BFA in ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute. Today she uses her eye for pattern and decoration to create ornamental ceramics that reference 18th century porcelain.
She states:
In my work I try to capture the qualities for which porcelain has been known since its discovery in China: whiteness, translucency, and resonance. I am attracted to the enameled and lustered surfaces of the Baroque, Renaissance and Rococo porcelain designs, as well as to elaborations on structural elements of these time periods. I am investigating surface decorations and embellished shapes in order to gain more knowledge for my own studio practice. I am interested in incorporating and referencing historic drawings, motives, and patterns into my work. I am also striving to develop a notable form language for my own designs.
Click to see a larger image.
Her current exhibition Schema: A Journey Through Traditional Patterns and Imagery (Kansas City, October 2 — January 23, 2016) is on view at the Belger Crane Yard Studios. The exhibition is supported by excellent photography by E.G. Schempf.
The studio states:
Melanie has traveled to Asia and Europe to explore ancient and contemporary porcelain production of the East and the instilled taste for prestigious white and translucent tablewares of the West. She has been a resident at the International Ceramics Studio in Kesckemét, Hungary where she studied with the renowned Latvian artist Ilona Romule and deepened her love for designing with plaster and detailed china-painting. She was also a resident at The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China, where she developed her own designs with skilled local craftsman into a new body of work, exploring the relationship between the cultures, and how they continue to connect and influence each other through the ceramic arts.
Melanie has exhibited her work internationally, including Hungary, Canada and America. She was awarded the 2014 Regina Brown Undergraduate Fellowship from the National Council for Education of the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) and the 2014 Windgate Fellowship Award by The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design.
Bill Rodgers is the General Editor of CFile.
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Works by Melanie Sherman. Photographs by E.G. Schempf. Click to see a larger image.
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