Cheryl Ann Thomas – Threesome – Relics 229-231, 2010

Cheryl Ann Thomas is well known for her large-scale coiled porcelain sculptures, of which Threesome—Relics 229–231 is an important example. Thomas’s approach consists of taking tiny ropes of porcelain clay and meditatively working them into large, thin vessels. It is important to Thomas that the distinct shapes of the individual coils blend together but the evidence of the hand is never completely erased. These forms, described by the artist as “precarious columns,” are too tall and thin to withstand the heat of the kiln. During the firing process, they collapse and become forms that the artist calls “relics.” Thomas pairs these “relics” in a second firing, and the outcome of this process is left unaltered. The resulting objects are multi-layered, coupled sculptures, marked by repetitive striations denoting the initial coiling process.