Michele Quan makes decorative ceramic objects for your home and garden. The pieces she makes become a canvas on which she adds paint, text, and color, with the images rooted in visual symbols found in Eastern iconography. The finished object has, therefore, a spiritual essence to it, providing much more than simple decoration.
“When making things I have to see it in my head first,” Quan explained in an interview with Matter of Hand. “Some people just go for it and it evolves, but for me it’s weird – I have to see it in my head or I don’t believe I can do it. I have to be able to see the process linearly. Once I figure out how to make something the first time I’ll make a template so that I don’t have to re-think it every time. If you have to think too hard it’s more exhausting.”
All handmade, from start to finish, her pieces are either hand-built or thrown on the wheel, after which they are painted. The work is then fired in a gas kiln to 2,350 degrees. Other materials used include hand-dyed cotton, hemp rope, and reclaimed wood.
“I feel like anything I say is going to sound corny, but I want my pieces to create moments where people look back at their intentions and how they want to operate in the world,” says Quan, “what they wish to see or have or be or connect with. Just bringing them back into the present and connecting them to the beauty of the world; that’s a moment where everyone feels really good. It’s like touching ground before you go off into the craziness.”
Invite calmness into your life through her original artwork.
