Work in progress
Bernardita Cossio
Moving textures was born from the need to express my creativity through my hands after spending ten years behind a computer in a marketing agency. The clay took me back to when I was a little girl in Chile, learning my family's craft of sewing and clothing design. Full of restless energy and creativity, I asked myself: What if, instead of hand forming shapes, I build a slip cast? I dusted off my sewing machine and built a fabric mold and poured porcelain inside. Though my first attempt was a mess, the result was beautiful. I knew I was on to something. So, after testing various materials, I designed quilted patterns that take shape inside leather castings. Each piece is unique and alive. Like the animals from which the leather molds were created.
Spirit of things
Porcelain is a fusion of minerals developing in the earth for thousands of years, molecules of sedimentary rocks transforming into other rocks and bonding with oxygen to generate the purest form of clay. By introducing the porcelain, and making it adapt within the confines of the quilted leather, I orchestrate twists and turns but there is always something unexpected…a different wrinkle, a beautiful flaw that reminds me that I should trust the process and let go of the need for control.
Art and Chemistry
One of the lessons that I learned in this path is that if I don’t take science seriously, I will never master the art of ceramics. Everything is about understanding what is happening with molecules. Through long hours and a lot of trial and error, I refined my process, tested various materials, learned about kilns, studied chemistry, replaced glaze with pigments, adjusted temperatures and lived in a constant oscillation between frustration and happiness. I still have a long way to go, but here are some pieces that I'm most proud of.