the tiny tiny studio
Chris Massingill
Artist Statement
My working studio's name is “the tiny, tiny studio." It is named after my small working space where I create things, sometimes have workshops or private lessons, and occasionally allow adult students to use studio space and supplies independently to create their own works.
I am essentially a “teaching artist." I have 9 years of experience teaching art in the public schools K-12 but am currently only teaching workshops and private lessons. One of my favorite things about teaching is learning about new materials and techniques which I think help to inform my work and to push me in new directions.
I have a BFA in Ceramics from the University of Central Arkansas, but I also like to experiment with other media, especially photography (mostly of my own creations), and I like to re-purpose found objects.
My current body of work consists of mostly ceramics. I like to work with a white earthenware clay that I either glaze for functional work or that I use a cold finish with for sculpture or small pendants and magnets. Because of this all of my functional work is food safe as well as dishwasher and microwave safe. The ceramics I design and create lean more towards art pottery than studio pottery as I like each piece I create to be unique.
My other current lines of work involve “found objects” such as my soft sculptures made from socks and buttons that I also photograph and create narratives for as well as some flea market silverware to which I have been adding text.
Although I like to experiment with other media, clay is still my primary medium, and the inclusion of text or stamped texture in all my work is a common thread the connects all of my work. Often I have heard the argument that fine art that needs text is not successful on its own, but I love text. My mother was a writer, my father worked in the printing industry as well as being a photographer, and I have been an avid reader all my life. I absolutely adore books, text and fonts, and letterpress letters kind of make me swoon, so I cannot resist the urge to incorporate these elements into my work.
