Ep. 18 | Collaborative Play and Interdisciplinary Ceramics with Cate Solari
Cate Solari is an artist and educator currently based in Eastern Connecticut. Her sculptural work uses organic ceramic forms paired with play equipment like kiddie pools and swing set slides. The pairs are inspired by Solari’s research interests: art and play, childhood development, pedagogy, and team building. Her social practice work is a culmination of these interests into interactive play experiences she terms, Collaborative Play.
Solari holds a MFA from the School of the Art institute of Chicago (SAIC) in Sculpture, and a BFA from the University of Connecticut (UConn) in Sculpture and Ceramics. She has exhibited widely in venues that include: Sullivan Center in Chicago, Comfort Station in Chicago, Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, and the Barnes and Franklin Gallery in Farmington. She has received numerous grants and awards, most recently the Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year Award from UConn, where she teaches ceramics classes. Solari also teaches ceramics classes at Westfield State University and is the current artist in residence at the Eastern Connecticut Center for History Art and Performance in Willington.
In our conversation, we talk about ceramics, art education, and collaborative play in art, between the artist and their medium, between art and its audience, and within a community or studio.
Cate's work is on exhibition from October 1st - 21st, 2022 in the “The Will to Change: Gathering as Praxis” Gallery Exhibit at the Cummings Art Gallery of Connecticut College, organized by Nasty Women Connecticut (https://www.nastywomenct.org/nw2022-1).
Find more of her work on Instagram @cates_studio or on her website at https://catesolari.com/
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