Craig Mitchell
Craig has been working as a Lecturer in Ceramics at the Edinburgh College of Art since his appointment in January 2001. Craig's work explores contemporary culture and universal themes but also responds to current events, both political and personal.
'Everything in my life, every chance comment, every potentially insignificant interaction and childhood memory is mixed into the melting pot of my work. Realising slightly surreal ceramic creations is my way of relating to the increasingly bizarre reality which forms the fabric of our daily lives'.
Craig received a Scottish Arts Council Award for Creative Development which has enabled him to afford time to research and develop a new direction in his figurative ceramics.
'An important development was research into new ideas and narratives, I have explored ideas that include the production, consumption and promotion of food. In the piece “Dr Pie-kenstein” a pie-headed skater takes to the ice and cuts a melancholic dance across the operatic setting of the supermarket frozen food section. This was inspired by the phrase “Frankenstein foods” coined by the press following the BSE crisis which exposed bad practice in the food production industry. The title is important providing another level of humour and interpretation'.
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His ceramic vocabulary has developed from a grounding in modelling and then moulding into a looser handbuilt approach, exploring clay's inherent qualities as much as possible whilst trying to achieve technically challenging dynamic poses. |
The Award enabled him to research new additives not normally associated with clay such as nylon and denim fibres or flax, which serve to provided incredible “green” strength during the making process and prevent cracking whilst drying.
| The production of high-quality images documenting this body of work was fundamental and has formed the basis of both a catalogue and forthcoming website, these will be invaluable as a promotional tool in the future. |
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Craig's work has been exhibited all around the world from 1993 - 2004 including:
USA, New York
Edinburgh
London
Chicago
France
Glasgow
Australia
Austria
Korea
Taiwan
Japan
Public Collections – August 2001, Korea, Ichon, World Ceramics Centre |