Bottle

The ceramic vases in Caroline Cole’s Bottle Collection are cast from a mould made from a twisted rhomboid. This creates a shape that plays games with the eye: looking like a tall, narrow, apparently symmetrical bottle from one angle but a wide, flat bottle, in which the shadow of the narrow bottle is reflected, from another.

This form offers endless opportunities for trompe l’oeil, and Caroline has explored this using both flat colour and her more signature geometric patterns. In some pieces, subtle colour variations on the flat surfaces remind people of the different bottles trapped in the one piece. On others, patterns are used to emphasise or hide the forms as they play across the surface, sometimes evoking a mathematical rigour, and at other times an affinity with nature.

As with all Caroline’s studio ceramics, these pieces are meticulously hand painted. The colours and patterns draw on the inherent movement of the shape, using the twisting angularity of the pot itself as a foundation. The combination of exposed underglaze with both matt and gloss glazes add further subtlety and texture to the surface. Each piece is handmade with extraordinary precision with layers of glaze applied and fired several times to create depth and intensity of colour.

Each vase is a unique, handcrafted work of art – a collectable ceramic. However, if you are looking for something made specifically for you, Caroline enjoys designing with her clients, to create individual commissioned pieces. The Bottles stand 220mm tall.