"I use the vessel and language of function as a reference point for the viewer to connect to each material through their shared history as the items we eat and drink from daily."
Crescuillo's work brings together a free and playful exploration of texture and light through dialogue between two materials, clay and glass. The marks of the process are incredibly important and tell the history of how each piece was made. I want the viewer to be able to connect with elements of the process through recognizable textures.
Each positive form is sculpted by hand by myself and directly invested, no duplicate molds are made. Each resulting piece is one of a kind. I love how the clay records every fingerprint, squeeze, and poke of my hand directly, and how that is transferred through the mold exactly to the kiln cast glass, something which isn't possible in hot glass. I am almost directly impressing the glass with my hand. Just like when we see hand prints or finger prints in ancient art in museums, we can connect to that individual maker and our shared history as humans. I want the viewer to have the same experience with my pieces when they see my fingerprints or handmarks captured in the glass.
Drinking our daily coffee or tea, eating from a bowl or dish, lighting a candle, these are universal experiences that hold profound meaning for all of us. Our grounding rituals we all punctuate the day with and organize our lives around. This work asks us to contemplate that on a deeper level and how that connects us to our past.
This body of work is inspired by contemporary trends in ceramics. Artists like Anders Ruhwald, Katie Stout, Tony Marsh, and Vadis Turner to name a few, drippy crunchy glazes, thick textures, and earthiness. As well as artists in glass that tapped into the material in a special way, beyond its obvious gloss and sparkle, like Hank Adams, Rick Beck, Marvin Lipofsky, and even Dale Chihuly. Who all let the material shine on its own.