Learn More About Ceramicist, Cassie Butcher

Cassie grew up in West Virginia and went to Berea College where she majored in Art and Psychology. Shortly after graduating, she had the opportunity to go to the wonderful Penland School of Craft and studied glaze chemistry for two months. In March 2004, she was honored to accept a resident artist position at Odyssey Clay Center. The residency provided her an opportunity to take classes from amazing local artists and artists from all over the nation. What a treasure for an emerging artist! Then she went to the University of Florida for the Post-Baccalaureate Program, where she met many amazing artists and realized her home was in the Asheville and graduate school was not her path. 

These days she continues to expand her "vocabulary" of the soul concept, drink amazing beer, eat delicious food, enjoy the beautiful Appalachian Mountains, hang out with her husband David and her sweet baby girl Dottie and pinches herself everyday to see if this is real and be grateful!

What inspires me to make art is the way human beings relate to one another. Through my sculpture, I explore human relationships and interactions by stripping the figure of details that would lead to a specific identity then use the simplified figure to create reflective narratives. Without these superficial or temporal cues, my hope is to evoke a deeper sense of empathy among us. As humans, we constantly seek to uniquely identify ourselves in every way we can. In our search for individuality, there is still a deep desire to belong and connect; a fight for meaningful existence in a crowded world. My work takes us back from the distractions of individuality and reconnects us to each other, creating an introspective sensitivity for how we are not all that different at our core. I think one of the most basic human needsis relationship with fellow humans.

I use the word ‘souls’ to describe the basic figures that are the starting point for all of my work because I feel it touches on the essence of who everyone is. It does not indicate who we are on our physical surface or who we are in our circumstances, but who we really are and how we really connect. We all experience joy, pain, suffering, sorrow, and love. Sculpting the human form in this style connects people on the deepest aspects of life. I want my work to have a therapeutic and relatable feel to it that draws the viewer in to empathize with it.

• Each “soul” is hand built, textured individually and glazed to create a one-of-a-kind sculpture

• Commissions welcome

• Sizes range from 7 inches to 7 feet

• Available as free standing forms or sculptures to hang on a wall