Gina Lee Robbins

Migration
ceramic

Calling
ceramic and twigs

I am drawn to simple organic forms that reveal rich texture and irregularity upon close examination: creeping lichen, labyrinthine coral, the patterned skin of a reptile. My work is informed by these details, incorporating gesture that is suggestive of human emotion and social interaction. The results are startling forms that are both otherworldly, and viscerally familiar.

I enjoy hand-building with clay because although I begin to control the direction of a form, the elements involved can always render a completely unique and surprising result. I assemble and manipulate shapes, testing gravity and the clay’s plasticity. I pinch and carve away until something pleasingly familiar almost breathes in my hands. Finally, upon releasing the work to the kiln’s fire, it is transformed again. The entire process reflects both the fragility of life and the rule of chaos in nature. The challenge of creating beauty amid these metaphoric obstacles is exhilarating to me.

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© Gina Lee Robbins