“A vase is an object that surrounds us in our daily live, where it used as a “container” of some kind. In my work the functionality of the vase is unimportant. The vase is rather used as an object to capture an abstraction of a feeling, a memory, an observation.”

Mieke Delvaeye makes use of the coiling technique to make her works. She creates her works with a minimum of tools. The freedom of expression is important part of her work, during the making of a piece and also during the completion of it. As a general concept, the imperfections and asymmetries that come to live while creating a piece, are embraced and make part of her style.

The asymmetry and imperfections of the skin of a piece represent the asymmetries found in nature, e.g. the crookedness of a tree or branch, the beauty this reflects. The fingerprints left on the vase or sculpture are also like the silent witnesses of the forces that shape us in our life time. They were left for viewer to see and give the work an extra sense of fragility and vulnearibilty.

During the glazing process, Mieke Delvaeye likes to experiment with slip engobes and different kind of glazes, that can be applied to the work in different ways, like brushing, pouring, applying with syringes,…. The different layers (up to 10) are allowed to react with each other. The “ruffled” skin of the work that is created during the building process has an effect on the different glazes and slips that are applied, creating extra tactility, texture and movent on the skin of the work.