Vessel 80

Cheryl Ann Thomas, a ceramic artist living in Ventura, California, has pushed the artistic and aesthetic standards for porcelain for several years, with her tall, slumping vessels. One of the first questions viewers might ask when seeing works such as Vessel 80 is What is it made of?. Subsequently, the viewer may then question their own assumptions about porcelain, e.g. Can imperfection be a goal with porcelain as a medium? Thomas constructs tall vessels by meditatively layering tiny rolled coils on top of one another, and firing these pots until the point of near or partial collapse. In this way, she deliberatively welcomes serendipity, and subverts centuries of striving for perfection in porcelain. Ironically, these imperfect, sometimes nearly collapsed pieces are prized by collectors.