06 October 2021
Carly Pascoe is a ceramicist, artist, and designer who has spent the last decade exploring clay. Throughout this period, she has been formally trained and worked alongside multiple artists and mentors. Her sculptures and designs can be found in showrooms and boutiques around Australia under her studio name Coe Studio. Carly’s most recent inquiry into sculptural form examines fluidity, symbioses, and her innate feeling of interconnectedness.
What creative projects have you lost to the pandemic’s hold over the arts sector?
For me, the biggest impact has been the loss of commissioned pieces. Items like bespoke lighting and sculptures are being put on hold or even cancelled. And with the doors closing on commercial spaces, like restaurants, the loss of creative collaborations with architects and designers has also had a big impact. It’s been hard for my stockists in major cities as many of them have had their doors closed for months. This obviously impacts my retail sales and also limits my ability to give return customers and new clients a place to view my current works. The most recent loss has been the canceling of an exhibition that had the potential to reach thousands of creative, educated, and affluent people.
What does lockdown look like for you?
I chose at the start of the pandemic to stay positive. This doesn’t mean that there haven’t been rough days, but fortunately, I’ve been able to alchemize this difficult period by expanding my skill set and diving deeper into my practice. It’s given me time to explore and refine the themes and concepts around my work. My creative process involves a lot of time spent alone. This time has increased during the lockdown and I’ve noticed a tendency for both my positive and negative emotions to amplify. Sometimes it’s a really lonely experience as a creative. It’s taken time and self-care to find a positive balance.
Let’s assume a utopian future is coming where all our creative endeavours have no restrictions. What is ahead for you?
I’d love to access and interact with the minds and spirits of people freed from the distractions of having to compete in our current capitalistic dominator culture. I’d definitely continue to work with clay. I don’t know if I’d change too much. Even in a utopian world, my creative process would be the same and patience will still be a virtue.
