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Moody, overcast & grey skies, the elegant rise and fall of the swifts on the wind, a crow watching, the bare branches of trees gently succumbing to the ever pestering wind. The sea sculpting the strandline, the edges, the between.

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The array of things, stones, pebbles, bits of string, a feather, a bone. Many of us feel the need to collect these things, they tell us of what has been. A narrative that subtly changes with the ebb and flow of the weather. All noted, many recalled on the layers of the ceramic surface.

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Not seeking to imitate nature but hoping to evoke a cherished memory, sense of peace or the feeling of being alive as the elements tear through the landscape. There is no deep meaning to Rachelle’s work but simply layers of the visual narrative that resides within her head. One that simply regards a broken scraped surface to be the most beautiful of things, one that tells a story of its journey. The clay, the process from the earth to the fire and onwards.

A visual tale, one which we will never know, one that we can only imagine.

 

Created in the studio using hand-building and age old techniques of pinching, coiling and shaping slowly and thoughtfully with her hands, layers are added and scraped away, various clays are used to achieve different textures and finishes. Gathered pieces, a natural collector there is always something to be found in Rachelle's pockets, crumbled, srunched or broken that can be added to a surface.

There is a sense, a feeling that the pieces are like ourselves, layers of debris, sharp, soft, gouged, gentle hiding the strength that lies beneath. 

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In this world there are two cherished things….. stones | bowls 

 

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