lolo dahling: SPOTLIGHT SUNDAY: MELISSA CROTTY

Melissa (also known as Millie) and I have been best friends for a very long time now...we met at the Philadelphia Community College where we were both enrolled as art majors...we had a lot of classes together and hit it off immediately. So...I wasn't going to go into our "story" but I'm feeling its importance...the first day we met was in a class, one of us was late, let's say it was me..and there was only one seat left in the class and it was next to Melissa. We started chatting and discovered we both had butterfly tattoos and voila' it was an instant friendship!! haha...Well that was really the beginning but there was actually a lot more depth to it!

I have always really admired Melissa's work, she would consistently have this natural, organic quality to everything she did...her work has always been super clever and you can tell it really comes from the heart. She has been a pure inspiration to me in so many ways in my life and I feel very grateful to have been with her throughout her ceramic career. Watching her grow and find her path within her work has been such an exciting journey...from functional to sculptural to jewelry...she is ever evolving. Anytime she is at a craft show there is usually a gaggle of people over her work because it is truly like no other and I love that!! So I am proud to present...

MELISSA CROTTY

Please describe your work dahling....

My ceramic work merges between utilitarian design and sculptural play. The bright white of the porcelain functions as a stark backdrop for my inlaid sketches and brightly colored interiors. Combining sculptural additions of slip cast figural elements, insects, and whimsical shapes instigates subjective narrative to each functional object. I build each piece from thin porcelain slabs, allowing my forms to morph while drying and firing. This encourages warping accentuates the poise of each piece and helps complete the composition by unifying my forms with the sculptural additions and surface design. I enjoy the idea that my creations will enter someone else's home and enhance their everyday experience.

And it does, people love your work, they really do..I feel like I've seen people going crazy over it numerous times...buying entire displays! What is your first memory of knowing you were interested in ceramic and that is what you wanted to pursue?

My first memory of my interest in ceramics was in high school when I took Miss Perini's ceramic class in tenth grade. I was pretty unfocused as a teen and really wanted nothing to do with school but when I enrolled in that clay class that was my reason for going to school everyday. I didn't touch clay again for a while after school but when I was in my early 20's and trying to "figure out my life" I dove head first back into clay!! I began a full time apprenticeship in Western New York with my friend and Mentor Elliotte Hutton and have been creating ever since.

What or who are your major influences/inspirations that you continually use?

My major influences and inspirations are my friends! I have a really awesome network of creative people around me that inspire and push me everyday! My studio building is packed with artists in the same position I'm in. We all work a "regular"job and make art which is a challenge but seeing people work hard to fulfill their passion is an inspiration.

I love that answer, it's not something you hear very often...I feel like that is what I mean when I say that you can really see that you put your heart into your work, you are a very caring person and wear your heart on your sleeve! So I know you work in ceramics but this is a blog driven by fashion and beauty...sooo what fashion trend past or present really pisses you off??

UGGS and sweatpants...get it together ladies, you are in your pajamas and slippers!!!!

HAHA!!! I second that sister! xoxo