Kathleen Elliot Works

After all these years of art making, I am still moved by a rendering of a single pear or a grouping of tomatoes or a beautiful illustration of a flower and leaves. Although they’re mundane, everyday objects, there’s something so fundamental, so true and right about them and their depictions. I tend to idealize them in my work to produce that moment I love to witness when people see my work for the first time, that little gasp of wonderment, the surprise that something unreal can appear so real. Making botanical forms in glass takes these objects even further. Glass is an amazing material with properties like no other, but I like to make glass not look like glass. I’m depicting objects that are organic, soft, and pliable, using a material that is hard and brittle, but making it appear organic and soft. It’s a moment of trickery, if you will; the layers of surprise when, for a second, even though they know it isn't the case, people think they’re looking at a real plant form, then realize they’re actually looking at glass and further discover that glass can actually look organic and not just shiny. I enjoy provoking those moments or even a few seconds, of questioning our reality.

There are some basic values I appreciate such as beauty and quality craftsmanship, and I always try to bring those forth in my work. When I get curious or moved or hurt or feel strongly about something, I bring it into my work. The process of designing, thinking and considering, experimenting, re-designing and so on, provides me the opportunity to work through my own learning and discovery, and I just hope my work can touch and open new ideas, thinking and experiences for others too.