2015 Creative Cups

Clare Marco

A Touch Of Armor

The properties of clay hold holistic benefits that are used for their medicinal purposes around the world today, as well as throughout history. Therefore, as I contemplated my Creative Cup, the finite material of clay was my first choice. To me there is a unique correlation in the transformations from breast surgery and the firing of clay. Like the breast, clay is a beautiful material from earth that can be manipulated and molded into a specific form by skilled hands. The main process of sculpting and then the first firing, permanently transforms the greenware into delicate bisqueware. The application of glaze offers design elements such as imagery, color, texture and shine, allowing the artist choices while the material sometimes offers guidance. The second firing completes the process.

As an artist I like to explore new materials. While I created the bra I thought of the surgeon’s hands upon my breast and the difficult decisions made and the worries before and after my own reconstructive breast surgery. The other materials I used each had a purpose where the results like reconstructive surgery can also be ambiguous. The copper wires served as a fabric to bind like stitches leaving marks and scars in their wake. The coral pieces I brought back from the oceans of Hawaii provided memories of an earlier time and the soothing element of water. I offer the viewer A Touch of Armor to protect, guide and unite those touched by breast cancer.