Dec, 2021
Be Still and Know
ARTIST'S ZOOM TALK: Sunday 12 December 2021, 4.00pm - 5.30pm online
Meeting ID: 868 4810 4229
Passcode: Nomas
Artist's Statement
Be Still and Know
Cast Glass, Bronze, Plaster
Shown first at Truro Cathedral in the ‘Create to Commemorate’ exhibition 2016.
There is a little book, in Truro Cathedral, that lists the names of all the children in that congregation over many years that were still born or have died young. A book for the families to remember those whose lives mattered even though they did not live them as long as many of us would. Still birth, not often spoken about, these lives are worth commemorating and worth remembering.
Each plaster vessel was made to represent a child, unique and made beautiful. Viewers were invited to scoop a small amount of water from the larger glass bowl and decant it into one of the smaller ones as an act of remembrance for a child or baby they have known and loved; an act of quiet reflection and reverence. The vessel then absorbs the water into itself and slowly the water evaporates out into the air.
In thinking about the coming season and the Christ child, it brought up a thought, that Christ was a baby. He did not come to the Earth a fully grown adult with a quick wit, a fully formed theological message, ready to lead and gather followers.
Why does this matter? Whether you are a believer in the Christian Christ or not, it must be noted that it is pretty crazy for a God to show up as a baby. Someone that needs to be cared for by someone else, that cannot support itself or care for its own needs. If nothing else I feel this narrative shows how much value is in human life, that God chose to start his son’s life at the beginning and not skip ahead. Ultimately, he cares enough about those born and unborn, those that have died or are alive, to send his son to the Earth, to live and breathe as we do and to die for the sake of us.
Artist's Bio
Sarah Koetsier Ceramicist, Artist
Sarah was born in Canada but is very much a third culture kid having left Canada at a young age and lived abroad since. She has settled in Scotland with her husband Jonathan, an oil painter, after studying Contemporary crafts at Falmouth University. Her practice since finishing university in 2016 has been primarily ceramics based. She works from her studio in the East Neuk making a range of hand thrown functional and decorative porcelain pots. Her work focuses on lively surface decoration, clean designs, and the contrast of textures and colours. Each pot is individual and decorated by hand with coloured underglazes and oxides.
Artist's Website
№ 75/99
№ 1/1
Next project: → Border Patrol
Previous project: ← How many times must a man look up
