BIO Michelle Toole has been working in clay for nearly a decade with a focus on functional pottery with surfaces that evoke curiosity and invite touch. Her work focuses on bringing beauty to the everyday. She works out of Callanwolde Fine Arts Center’s pottery studio in Atlanta, Georgia and has travelled extensively attending workshops to gain knowledge and expertise of the medium. Her work is represented by numerous home stores in the Southeast and is sought after by many notable interior designers. She is currently working to complete a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Ceramics at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and plans to expand her studio and her body of work after completing her Post Baccalaureate Certificate in 2025.
ARTIST STATEMENT I create handbuilt ceramic objects that have a balance of beauty and functionality. Made to serve as both vessels and as expressions of comfort and fullness, each piece I create references tradition in technique and form and embraces the imperfections that make each object unique.
Having grown up in the South, my work is influenced by time spent in the lowcountry of South Carolina. The soft light, colors of the Atlantic Ocean, Kiawah and Stono Rivers, and the richness of the landscape are all represented in the glazes and textures that I use on the surfaces of my work. These pieces are meant to evoke a sense of warmth and hospitality, inviting aesthetic enjoyment while being made for practical use.
I believe that the beauty of pottery is its ability to provide both form and function. Offering a reminder that the most important things in life are those that are simple, imperfect, and full of warmth
