Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Cassidy.
Megan, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I began wheel throwing at the Guilford Art Center in Guilford, Connecticut when I was sixteen years old and continued developing this skill in high school through an independent study. At the same time, I was taking painting and drawing classes and never anticipated on focusing on ceramics in college. I began pursuing my undergraduate degree in art education at Central Connecticut State University and upon taking Ceramics 1 with Professor Vicente Garcia, I was hooked. I returned to CCSU for my graduate degree in art education where I am currently finishing my Exegesis paper focused on my current body of ceramic work. While continuing to be a practicing artist, I also teach art to high school students.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My work explores the technical and formal qualities of relief patterned surfaces on wheel thrown ceramics. I push the structural integrity of the clay by removing material for maximum openwork allowing the viewer to see inside the forms. The interiors of the forms have other forms trapped inside causing the viewer to ponder how those forms, colors and patterns got inside, like a ship in a bottle.
Many of the sources for my work lie within the long and complex history of ceramics. Technically elegant forms of Chinese and Korean relief, celadon pottery and the geometric motifs of Islamic ceramics are just a few of the historical genres that have inspired the development of my work. My wheel thrown forms act as a canvas for patterns and texture manipulated through a combination of carving, slip trailing, piercing and sgraffito. Through research, I realized we need to look at the past to understand the present. Unknowingly, I was blind to the historical context of the motifs used in my work and soon discovered that many of them originated or were shared among ancient Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Islamic art. In design history, symbols used in patterns have lost meaning or transformed with society. Specific patterns did not just occur in isolated cultures but were widespread across the earth at different time periods, proof of a collective human instinct.
In your view, what is the biggest issue artists have to deal with?
Originality is always a challenge artists have faced, but with so many references accessible online it has become increasingly easy to be influenced by others’ artwork. When starting out as a creator, your work is likely going to largely reflect the ideas of your influences so the challenge is the progression into finding your own voice and creating work that truly stands out as your own. While considering my exegesis topic and coming up with artworks addressing my topic, I kept questioning my ideas, wondering if they were truly original or if I was being influenced in some way by the hundreds of visuals I see on a daily basis.
When proposing art problems to my students I witness students immediately relying on image search engines for the answer, so teaching originality is also challenging. I share with them my experiences as an artist in art experimentation and risk taking. Artist must make both mistakes and new discoveries while continuously reflecting throughout the process. Artists should pursue ideas that take them out of their comfort zone both technically and conceptually because that is how creative development occurs.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I currently have work at the Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, CT. I have an online shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/MegCassidyClayworks. Also, I am constantly posting my process and finish work on both my Instagram, @megancassidyclayworks, and my Facebook page, Megan Cassidy Clayworks.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MegCassidyClayworks
- Email: MeganCassidyClayworks@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megancassidyclayworks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Megan-Cassidy-Clayworks
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