Ceramicist shapes life through her shadows
Bipolar artist sets out to make a bowl a day to track her mental wellbeing — and discovers a rejuvenation
A pile of ceramic shards — bits of broken bowls — lies at the entrance to Ashleigh Christelis’s studio in Morningside, Johannesburg. It’s an art installation and represents the hope and despair the ceramic artist, who lives with bipolar 2 disorder, experienced during 2016 as she set out to create #365 bowls: an exhibition of emotion. It was her intention to track her mental wellbeing through clay by making a bowl a day for an exhibition held last month. The latter was such a success that few bowls were left unsold. However, the process of making them had its ups and downs – a reflection of the essence of bipolar. "Some days I open my eyes in the early morning and dread the fact I am alive," says Christelis. "On other days, I open my eyes and excitement fills my being at the thought of another creative day." She describes bipolar as the "gift of feeling deeply the opposite ends of extreme emotions". As 2016 progressed, so life intervened and interrupted her steady bowl-making progres...
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