Cristine Bath

Ceramicist

©ChristineRefalo

Nature’s movement celebrated through clay

Cristine makes tableware objects as well as organic sculptures
Experimentation is a continual part of her practice
Her works conjure nature’s constant change

Cristine Bath began her journey to becoming a professional artisan with university-level studies in drawing and painting in her native Strasbourg. Exploring other artistic mediums, Cristine discovered her passion for working with clay. She trained at the European Institute for Ceramic Arts (IEAC) before doing residencies in France and Canada to further hone her craft. Since 2012, Cristine has worked as a ceramic artist from her workshops across southern France, including Saint-Quentin-La-Poterie, considered France’s “capital of ceramics” since Roman times. Since 2021, Cristine has made her home in a small village in Lozère. In both her sculptures and her tableware, Cristine’s work evokes the constant evolution and movement of the natural world.

Interview

©ChristineRefalo

What do you strive to convey through your work?: I am inspired by nature, especially the way living forms grow and change. Clay is a natural substance that is itself always in a state of change. I want to show movement and metamorphosis – a new facet revealed by changing light, a slight ripple crossing a surface.
How do you represent nature in your sculptures?: In my Specimens line, the rippling layers look like they are moving, and the opening into the hollow within gives the impression that the form could still be morphing. My Mountain pieces explore the forces of nature such as a protective shell, cracks and imperfections, and what lies beneath.
What is your work process?: My process is very methodical and meditative. Every day I prepare my clay. It must be just the right consistency to hold shape without cracking. When I am in a flow, the repetitive movements can be almost hypnotic, and I enjoy discovering where the clay leads me.
Is the process different with your tableware?: For my cups and bowls, I work from moulds that I design. One collection was inspired by the shifting icebergs I saw in the St. Lawrence River in Canada. Sometimes I decorate the surfaces with drawings that I etch and then colour with pigment. These works are simple and spontaneous.

Cristine Bath is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2012 and she started teaching in 2023