Whimsy

Teardrop Cups

Alisa Holen
Amazon
MFA, Ceramics, 2004
04-194202 


I was looking through the graduate archive and the second work above, from 2004, stood out to me just as it did the last time I was browsing the collection.  The whimsical, anthropomorphic qualities are, put simply, delightful.  The handle placement is spot on for the piece, and the curve and rim of the foot is as close to perfect as I can imagine for the work.  The link below is to Alisa Holen's site, where I found the picture of the Teardrop Cups.  In her statement she mentions her interest of playing with the trapping of air in closed form pieces, seen here in the cups nestled in the pillow teardrops which appear as if with one poke to the backside the cups will be pushed off.  This quality makes the work alive in a sense, and overcomes the rigidity of fired clay.  There is this same quality in the anthropomorphic work; it appears caught in the act of  walking (with sass no less) out of the frame.  
http://www.alpottergirl.com/statement.htm