Dimensions: H 24cm x Ø 24cm
Materials: A blend of stoneware and locally sourced wild clay with a fossilised wood lid.
Method: Hand-thrown and Hand-forged
Care: This piece can hold water. Handle with care, avoid harsh chemicals, protect against extreme temperatures, and periodically inspect for any signs of wear or damage.
Description
Chloé Rosetta Bell’s ‘Lobster Vessel with Fossilised Wood Lid,’ a fusion of stoneware and wild clay, is a sublime piece which interweaves the present with the past. Akin to water's transformative qualities, this vessel boasts a slender opening that unfolds into a vast, curvaceous body, much like the mouth of a river merging into the open sea.
The surface, glazed to mimic water's fluidity, is a canvas for the play of elements. White encrusted pieces, reminiscent of glistening sea foam, grace the upper body, adding a touch of ethereal beauty. Green-blue watercolour-like strokes cascades down the body as if it were melting, evoking the fluidity of water's movements. This mirrors the fluid essence of the sea, where boundaries blur, and life ebbs and flows.
The eye-catching piece of this work is the Fossilized Wood Lid, a piece of history, sourced by Chloé herself. It's not just a lid; it's a portal to the past, a document of what once was. Viewers are urged to ponder on the very essence of nature as a whole - all knowing and all seeing.
About the Artist
Chloé Rosetta Bell is a ceramicist who graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2019. Material-focused and primarily working in clay, her work is driven by her relationship with the land surrounding her home on the Isle of Wight. Situated in the Undercliff, it is one of the largest areas of urban landslip in Europe. Her practice seeks to create a tangible, physical celebration of this windswept landscape, and the livelihoods dependent on a specific landscape in general.
Chloé’s work is research-based. She will study materials, narratives and stories within a specific landscape to inform her collections. In one instance, she developed unique glazes from oyster shells at Porthilly Oyster Farm and chalk residue produced from washing Halen Môn’s sea salt. This method of research-based practice speaks to both how she creates and what she is saying with her work. Rosetta Bell creates an object that is at once beautiful in form, shape and texture. But, what is just as intriguing is how she does this whilst creating a physical and sensory piece of record of her landscape; a collision point between man and nature. Her work preserves her natural surroundings and the human livelihoods that depend upon it.
