New Year Featured Artist

Caroline Vidal is one of three new artists that have joined Ten Women on Montana since reopening in our new home.   I wanted to start the new year featuring someone new and because I do not know much about her art, I'll let Caroline tell about herself and what she creates in her own words...

ARTIST STATEMENT

Porcelain is synonymous of purity, softness, sensitivity and solidity. It requires precise technique and rigor in the elaboration of shapes. I throw my pots on an electric wheel, trim each pot several times in order to obtain thin delicate walls. I then bisque fire in an electric kiln followed by hand glazing of each pot with homemade glazes. The pots are stacked and high-fire in a gas kiln which is manually controlled allowing a lot of variations in the outcome of glazes. I look for refined and feminine shapes so that my cups, bowls, tea pots are both delicate and strong thanks to the solidity of high-fired porcelain clay. The noble whiteness of this clay allows me to elaborate a whole range of glazes that I mix with raw materials. As this “made in the USA” experience started less than a year ago, many new shapes and colors are emerging everyday.

I was born in France and was brought up in South East Asia. After graduating with a BS in Boston , I worked for 10 years in Japan and France in Industry. Ceramics started off as a hobby and it soon turned into a passion. So one day I decided to turn this passion into a career.

After a year of ceramic schooling at La Maison de la Ceramique in Mulhouse France, I set up my own studio in the Burgundy countryside in France. I elaborated and produced functional ware in red high-fired stoneware from 2001 to 2005.

In 2003 I opened a second studio in Paris France and thus shared my time between countryside and city life.

In 2005 I closed my 2 studios to follow my husband to Berlin Germany where I discovered porcelain.

In 2006 my husband and I moved to Santa Monica where we “made” our “masterpiece”: our son. I thus spent the next four years bringing him up as a full time Mum.

In January 2011 I set up my new studio in Venice. I decided to start where I left off in Berlin, namely with the magic of porcelain.

Caroline's space filled with her gorgeous porcelain creations

I'm sure Caroline's artistry can be appreciated through photos, but it is worth coming by the gallery to see her display up close and personal.  Each piece is very special indeed and make wonderful gifts.