Sep 18, 2025
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Cheryl Ann Thomas Stunning sculptures made of porcelain
For this post I decided to investigate something completely new that it is not related to the previous post.
I was researching designers that were employing materials with an interesting process until I came across to Cheryl Ann Thomas. The image below shows the first work that made me want to find out more about her.
Image, (Cheryl Ann Thomas, 2016)
What was the first thing that came up to my mind by looking at Thomas’ work? I was very intrigued by the organic shape but it was not clear to me what kind of material she used. Instead of googling which materials she might have used, I wanted to guess it.
At first I thought that the artist used wood because the texture of the sculpture looked quite rough. Then I had a look to others sculptures and they were made with pastel colors; so at that point I assumed she was using fabric. In fact some of the sculptures were built with different layers of color and reminded me a pile of fluffy jumpers. I was terribly wrong and surprised too when I found out that Cheryl Ann Thomas, for her sculptures, was simply using clay.
I have already talked about clay by using 3D printing and this is the reason why I want to analyze another approach that does not include technology.
Cheryl Ann Thomas is an american artist, graduated in 1982 at the Art Center College of Design. She is an affirmed ceramic sculptor. (Franklloyd.com, 2016)
For her creations, she is using a traditional technique of pottery called coiling. This technique was used in the past by Pre-Columbian, Native American and West African people and it consisted on creating ropes of clay and then smoothed to create a solid structure for objects like jars, vases. (Franklloyd.com, 2016)
Process
The video below shows the first part of the process in Thomas’ work by using the coiling technique. For the fact that she is building very thin and tall vessels, before fire them, the structures are very fragile. Sadly in the video we can see that the clay was dry and the vessel was ready to be put in the kiln until when the artist tried to take it from the floor and the pressure of her hands, caused by the weight, have broken it.
Video, (Relic250 by Cheryl Ann Thomas, 2016)
Thomas is innovative because she is patiently modeling ropes of clay by layering one on top of the other by leaving the twist exposed and imprinted by hand. Layer after layer, she creates tall, thin vessels made of clay and then Thomas puts the vessels in a kiln. The shape is achieved by the weight of the vessel that collapse and it folds in. That is why Thomas does not smooth the surface of the clay because while it folds, some ropes are being separated generating holes in the sculpture. (Danesecorey.com, 2014)
Thomas has recently discovered that she can combine more than a piece together by firing them a second time in the kiln. In this way she is able to achieve more intricate and bigger structures. The final outcome is very resistant and Thomas believes that her work “is not a metaphor, but a real and distinct experience of creation and loss.” (Franklloyd.com, 2016)
In conclusion
I agree with the artist’s thoughts because I felt the same when I was admiring her work. In my opinion her work is like a journey in which she creates something that successively changes its aspect and we lose the perception of it. It is a very interesting project in which I have loved every single part of the process but I liked the most was the first phase of the firing process. It must be a surprise all the time when she opens the kiln. The organic shape is achieved by the firing process. All the pieces are going to look differently because it is depending on the way the layers are being built by the artist and then the firing process does the rest.
This project made me love the porcelain process even more than I used to and I felt the necessity to become more confident with this material because it can help me to express the idea of fluidity that is a frequent concept in my design projects.
References:
- Cheryl Ann Thomas. (2016). [online image] Available at: http://www.franklloyd.com/dynamic/images/display/Cheryl_Ann_Thomas_Vessel_51_2005_2324_119.jpg [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].
- Cheryl Ann Thomas. (2016). [online image] Available at: http://www.pearlmfa.org/uploads/5/1/2/0/51200989/7213463_orig.jpg?118 [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].
- Cheryl Ann Thomas. (2016). [online image] Available at: http://www.franklloyd.com/dynamic/images/display/Cheryl_Ann_Thomas_Foursome_Relics_122166173_175_2009_2117_119.jpg [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].
- Cheryl Ann Thomas. (2016). [online image] Available at: http://collagelove.weebly.com/uploads/2/7/7/5/2775294/3756531.jpg?575 [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].
- Cheryl Ann Thomas. (2016). [online image] Available at: http://www.franklloyd.com/dynamic/images/detail/Cheryl_Ann_Thomas_Relics_319_321_322__333_2012_3265_377.jpg [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].
- Danesecorey.com, (2014). Cheryl Ann Thomas - Artists - Danese/Corey. [online] Available at: http://www.danesecorey.com/artists/cheryl-ann-thomas [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].
- Franklloyd.com, (2016). Cheryl Ann Thomas biography presented by. [online] Available at: http://www.franklloyd.com/dynamic/artist_bio.asp?ArtistID=45 [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].
- Relic250 by Cheryl Ann Thomas. (2016). [online video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NW9QEpgTCs [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].
Synthesis of Life
It's a work made in coiling technique that represent construction of life, each floor suggests another experience..