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Michelle Sumares

Ceramic Sculpture
www.michellesumares.com

Clay is my forum for exploring the female body and experience of the feminine. I'm captured by the aesthetics of the body personally and socially. As my work develops and varies, I perceive the emergence of feminine archetypes, including the Lover and her expression of beauty and sensuality and the Mystic that looks within for solace and truth.

Each piece is handbuilt, typically from hand thrown and rolled slabs of white or red clay from which I fashion hollow forms, pushing out shapes, adding and subtracting until the lines of positive and negative space are satisfied. Finishes may be applied pre- and/or post-firing and each piece may be fired two or more times depending upon the results achieved. Any of the following may be included in a piece as it is called for: underglazes, glazes, terra sigilata, polishes, encaustic, and acrylic paints.

With each piece I develop a relationship that often surprises me, usually informs me and always inspires me to keep seeking, refining and expressing my voice.