Blossoming

Melissa Smith

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(b. 1983)

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BLOSSOMING; 2011

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ceramic, acrylic paint

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84 x 48 in. (213.4 x 121.9 cm)

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ARTIST STATEMENT

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Melissa Smith is a ceramic artist whose work deals with the relationship of two dimensional imagery and three dimensional objects. Her work explores how these two media types relate to one another. This piece was made using various types of clay chosen for their unique physical qualities. The glaze is a copper red glaze fired in an atmospheric firing to achieve its red qualities. This piece deals with visual texture, nature, and was inspired by the beauty of the Japanese culture in light of the recent earthquake and tsunami. Cherry blossoms are native to Japan, and they have a great deal of history and symbolism associated with them. To the Japanese the quick blossoming and falling of the blossoms represents the fragility and cycle of life. During World War Two, Japanese soldiers were encouraged to believe that the spirits of their fallen friends were reincarnated in the blossoms.