Ceramic Basket B by Olivia TaniDimensions: W 30 x D 26 x H 29 cmMaterials: Ceramic Stoneware, Slip, Soda AshOlivia Tani is a ceramic artist living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She approaches utilitarian objects as a vehicle for sculpture. While developing a form, the interplay between utility and sculpture drives her choices. She celebrates the way that her artwork can serve a function while also standing alone as an art piece in a domestic environment.Deconstructing three-dimensional forms into their two-dimensional blueprints inspires Olivia’s slab building with clay. She builds voluminous forms using slab components made from paper templates. Movement, proportion, and silhouette guide her hands. By using enclosed forms and careful contours, she evokes a sense of fullness in three dimensions.Olivia finishes her surfaces with slips and glazes and fires in an atmospheric soda kiln. This process centers focus on the form while the kiln delivers swathes of matte crystals and glassy edges. Differences in sheen interact with planes to emphasize light and shadow playing across the architecture. Creating an aesthetically, structurally, and functionally successful form drives her in the studio.