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(left) Virginia Scotchie, Columbia, SC, Knob Form from Indigo Translation Series, Stoneware (middle) Virginia Scotchie, Columbia, SC, Avocado/Bronze Knob, Stoneware, 19”x15”x10”
Function in a Former Life:
(right) Virginia Scotchie, Columbia, SC, Bell from Indigo Translation Series, Stoneware, 11”x7”x7”
The ceramics of Virginia Scotchie by Kelsey Karper Virginia Scotchie’s ceramics sit somewhere between regal and whimsical. Her handmade pieces are reminiscent of everyday, functional objects but with characteristics that make them difficult to define. Scotchie, who lives and works in South Carolina, is head of the ceramics department at the University of South Carolina and received her Masters of Fine Arts from Alfred University in New York. An exhibition of her work was recently featured in a solo exhibition titled All Things Considered at the University Of Tulsa School Of Art in the Alexandre Hogue Gallery. In admiring the collection of ceramic works, I found it difficult to follow the “no touch” rules that are so ingrained in a frequent art viewer. The pieces seemed to be asking to be touched. Their surfaces were covered mostly with a unique texture of bumps and cracks in saturated colors, interrupted by smoother surfaces with a bronzy finish. They seemed to be made for handling, most of them boasting
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protruding knobs or handles. It is as if these protrusions were a part of the objects function in a former life.
surface reminiscent of moss, soil, or tree bark is distinct from the heavy and solid metallic surface of buildings, bridges, or machinery.
A piece resembling a cup is transformed with purposefully placed holes creating a pattern in and through its sides. A bowl-like object has similar holes along with a spout jutting from the bottom edge and the viewer can imagine what would be more of a fountain than a container. Each piece is displayed on what appears to be custom created pedestals and shelves. Strategic arrangements of objects on wall shelves combine several small pieces into large, impressive displays. A collection of works from her series Indigo Translations are arranged in a diamond-shaped pattern, taking up an entire wall. The forms are varied, from cups and funnels to bells and hats, but they are united in color and texture. A royal purple glazes the cracked, rough surface with a coppery bronze covering the smoother portions. The contrast in surfaces seems to be a study in the divergent products of nature and man. The organic and crusty
This disparity continues throughout the exhibition, with some pieces divided literally in half between surface textures. One wall of the gallery highlights a single row of ten spheres, each perched precariously upon a small shelf. The surfaces look as though the rough textures, each in different colors, have been peeled away to reveal the bronze beneath. To view a collection of Scotchie’s work is certainly a joyful experience. Her bold use of colors and forms are at once playful and contemplative. They invoke the mind to imagine the spirit that may be contained within the objects that we surround ourselves with every day and to consider the roles that they may play in our world. For more about the artist and her work, visit www.virginiascotchie.com. n