Hello and welcome to another installment of Sharing the Process!
Today we hear from Zoe Garred of Fleet Objects. Zoe moves fluidly from
one media to another, working in clay, leather, and wood. In all these
media she says she is inspired by the lines and colors of the ocean and
developed Fleet Objects on that idea. I appreciate her sharing her
lovely work here today and hope you will too. Thank you Zoe!
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I’ve
always loved ceramics. The idea of turning earth into something
beautiful and useful is amazing to me. I still can’t believe what I see
every time I open my kiln. I started doing pottery when I was little but
didn’t pick it up seriously until I was in university doing an
industrial design degree. I did a slip cast piece as my final project
and never turned back.
That
school project was a modular vase. Pieces could stack to make a tall
vase or be clustered together to hold lots of different flowers. This
instigated a series of work all based on the idea of making objects that
can be usable in many ways. The Pools collection is the most successful
result of this endeavor. It is a collection of ceramic vessels and
lids. The shapes are very simple and are modular, so can be mixed and
matched for multiple purposes. For example the same couple of pieces
combined differently could become a bud vase, a toothbrush holder, a
jewelry box, a tea cup or an olive bowl.
The
majority of what I make is ceramic but I do work with other natural
materials like wood and leather too. Since making ceramics is such a
drawn out process I find it refreshing to have some instant
gratification from more immediate materials. On a typical day in the
studio I will spend much of the day working on the ceramic pieces. This
could include casting liquid clay into molds, glazing pieces or firing
them in the kiln. Between the stages of making the ceramics I will work
on other pieces like braiding leather or preparing wood to be laser
cut.
Most
of the things I make are inspired by the ocean. Both what lives in it
and on it. I like fluid lines and soft colors. The Pools collection is
glazed only on the inside so that the contrast between the rough
stoneware and the glossy blue tones is reminiscent of tidal pools. My
leather jewelry is braided like round marine ropes. The lamps are based
on shapes of shells, anemones and fishing floats. The name of my company
Fleet Objects is even based on the idea of a fleet of ships, both
because my pieces are inspired by the ocean and because they are made in
repetitive shapes like my own little fleet of objects.
Website/Shop :
www.fleetobjects.com
Facebook:
www.facebook/fleetobjects
Twitter:
@fleetobjects
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