Catherine Cornelius

About the Artist

Catherine Cornelius is a ceramic and mixed media artist. She graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She began her art education in the early 90’s alongside working in the corporate world. A studio practice began in 2000 and in 2016 she retired from her company enabling her to fully focus on art. Her art education includes Brookhaven College, the Craft Guild of Dallas, and Penland School of Crafts. In 2020 she was selected into The Cedars Union, Dallas Tx, Cohort 2 program. She is currently represented by Ro2 Art Gallery in Dallas, Texas

Artist Statement

My preoccupation with objects… their forms, historical references, and what they can become as art is the impetus of my work. I am also interested in the female gender role, its psyche, and states of being in relation to experience, interactions and trauma.

The work involves capturing the essence of an object in a clay facsimile and combining it with other objects and imagery, either found or made, to create a narrative or beg a question. I look for dualities in these compositions to impose contradictions and meaningful tension.

My methodology is an intuitive process that evolves in the making. It typically begins with a form executed in clay. Next comes glaze. Then a collage of several layers of ceramic decals. Pieces are usually fired 4-6 times and a new starting point is realized with each firing. Plans are scrapped, decisions change, new information is added. Content emerges and the dialog between myself and the work continues until we have both said enough. I do not always have the last word.