The Ceramic Media Portfolio of Vicky Smith
Birds on a Branch, ceramic, stoneware
Vicky Smith is a sculptor and ceramic artist from North Carolina. In her artistic practice, Vicky uses ceramic media including stoneware and porcelain, to produce sculptures that use birds and a rustic aesthetic as motifs.
I really love the works in Vicky’s gallery from 2019. The pieces here feel like a great progression from the works we looked at in our previous feature of Vicky’s wood-fired ceramics. The artist still takes birds as a favoured subject, and delves even deeper into the textural, natural aesthetics that were prominent in previous works. In this series, wood-fired stoneware and porcelain take on an appearance reminiscent of wood, with earthy brown hues and deep, lined and fissured textures accompanying the forms of both animals and branches.
The artist’s recent works also include bowls which utilize feathered forms along the exterior edges, in combination with smooth, glassy interior surfaces. Though these are still inspired by birds I think they’re also reminiscent of oyster shells, or the works of Bent Oaks pottery.
