ARTIST STATEMENT
I use long ceramic coils to “weave” or “knit” my sculptures. Through this process, I explore the way that time and nature build form. This long-coil process connects to, both, ancient ceramic practice and to traditional forms of feminine craft; however, it also allows me to step outside of traditional practice in order to find form.
The sculptures often begin as vessels, as the vessel is traditional metaphor for the human figure, for the body. However, instead of representing an anatomical figure, I use the vessel to represent embodiment. Embodiment is the awareness of our internal sensations and perceptions interacting with an environment. Through my sculpture, I want to express the lived experience of being in a body.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Based in Evanston, IL, Sophie Brennan Carlisle is a sculptor working in ceramics. Sophie has spent many years using sculpture to explore the connection between mind, body, and the environment. She is influenced by her childhood living in different countries, and her love of nature.
Professionally, she worked at Hasbro Toy Inc. through the 90’s having earned a BFA in Sculpture in 1993 from Boston University, a classically figurative program. She began working exclusively in ceramics in 2001. She is married and has two children.
© Sophie Brennan Carlisle