Smoosh Collaboration

Artist statement

SMOOSH is the name of collaborative duo Cara McKinley and Katlin Shae, which is an investigation of material that re-examines the ancient relationship between fiber and clay. This collaboration is a celebration of ancient language and connection between material and processes. We have come to refer to our collaboration as SMOOSH because it embodies the essence of this work. With all of the forms these pieces take, the essential moment for the work is when we physically smoosh, and press the clay material into a woven matrix- the moment the work comes alive. The weavings are made for the clay, and the special clay mixture (that does not require firing) is made for the weavings. The moment of the smooshing action is when the materials marry. Inspired by the ‘Basket Theory’, (the creation story of ceramics), the original conceptual focus of the work was about our connection to our ancestors through craft, material, and process. We refer to this as the ancients whispering. There are other inherent layers of meaning built into this project through associations to historical women’s work, connections to the earth, and the magic that lives in the experimentation of how a material will behave within a specific process.

The relevance of this long-term collaborative project to the field of ceramics and textiles is imperative, as it examines and celebrates the origin story of the material clay becoming ceramic. According to the “Basket Theory”, the ceramic process was discovered through the necessity of using woven textile baskets covered in clay to perform practical functions, like collecting goods. This theory suggests woven wicker baskets were covered with mud from riverbanks. The clay mixture was theoretically rubbed into the interiors of the textile forms to ensure nothing would slip through the negative spaces of the baskets. Once a basket was worn out, it was discarded into the fire creating the discovery of the ceramic process. Clay and textiles have a long history of interwoven relationships that connect these processes to ancient humans.

This collaboration is about bringing two separate elements (woven fiber and clay) together into union. The continued merging of these ancient craft processes creates a connection between the past and the present. How do these materials and processes impact one another and ultimately, what kind of objects can we create when we combine the structural matrix of weaving with the malleable substance of clay? The physical response of our mediums reacting to each other created incredible sculptural forms that resemble and symbolize primordial ooze seeping through the matrix. There is a necessity in creating new materials to fulfill and answer particular questions within the making of objects, just as our ancestors did.

The act of making and the result of the process are an homage to the relationship between ancient weaving and ceramic practices, as well as to the past practitioners who are now the ancients whispering to us. These hybrid sculptures are modern relics, showing the physical interaction of clay and woven materials. The forms are the result of gravity and the weave structure impressing upon, and impacting the clay material, the physical remnants of our touch, where we pressed and pushed the clay body into the weavings. The sculptures are a record of the physicality of hand and material, built up with thick areas of clay and texture encasing a weaving to an almost unrecognizable form. It is this action of the pressing, smearing, and rubbing that connects the textile to the clay, and us to ancient humans who are whispering the past for us to interpret.