Cheryl Horning

Greenwich, New York, USA

Title: Carnivorous Beauty

Year of Creation: 2011

Glaze: Cone 6 matte turquoise, weathered bronze and underglazes

Clay Body: Red sculpture clay with grog

Dimensions: Height 21 inches, Width 9 inches

Artist's Statement: I am fascinated by Nepenthaceae and Sarraceniaceae, more commonly known as pitcher plants. These colorful and graceful, but carnivorous plants have interested me since I was a child exploring the wetlands near my home. How something so beautiful can be so deadly to insect life represents to me the many paradoxes of life.

I play with the different forms of the different species of pitcher plants, recreating and combining until I come up with an interesting relationship. Sometimes there are groups of two, three or four. Other times it is just one form. I am interested in the relationship between forms, trying to create harmony and tension as in the piece submitted here. The two parts are engaged in a fluid, graceful dance; their leaves just barely caressing each other. I am also interested in the negative spaces created by merging different plants together as if they were one. The textured, matt finish and muscular forms of this piece contrast with its soft lyrical movement.