Carin Dorrington

Biography:
Carin Dorrington studied Fine Art at the University of Stellenbosch and received her Honours Degree in 1985 under the tutelage of former lecturer Paul Emsley.
After completing her Teacher’s Diploma at University of Stellenbosch, she taught at the Jack Meyer Art Centre in Paarl for 8 years and then 16 years privately before retiring in 2017. It was during these teaching years that clay became her preferred medium for creative expression. She currently lives and works in Porterville.

Artist Statement:
The original idea for these vessels developed from doing a papier-mache project with the students, that involved the joining of recycling materials and objects to create whimsical biomorphic and humanlike sculptures.
All the vessels are hand built and constructed out of hard slabs using templates. They are created by stacking and joining more “traditional” ceramic shapes such as boxes, cylinders and bowls to create a completely new form.
These objects can stand on their own as sculptures and are also functional in holding flowers, leaves or branches. They are glazed on the inside and can hold water.

The major aim of these objects is to bring joy and happy brightness into a living space. The application of vibrant colour plays a big role in creating the fun and joyful character of the vessels.
Visual inspiration comes from many different sources such as the Memphis Group, Industrial Architecture, Abstract Art to artists such as Jean Dubuffet, Henri Matisse and Joan Miro.
All the sculptures are made of stoneware clay, painted with underglazes and fired to 1200 degrees Celsius.