Story by Harumi Patzy, Reporter
Photos by Harumi Patzy
“When people look at my work, I hope what they notice first is craftsmanship and appreciate it. I have a crazy passion for attention to detail, almost unhealthy. I can’t remove it, it was working against me in history but here it’s more of an advantage. If I can’t do it 100%, I’d rather not do it at all.”
This week, the AQ Artist Spotlight celebrates Brooke Cornillie, from Grosse Pointe, MI. Brooke is currently transitioning from a History Major to a Fine Arts Major and is also currently a Studio Manager at the AMC. She has many responsibilities as a Studio Manager, from keeping the classroom clean and organized, to making glazes and firing student projects in the kiln.
Brooke values her job as a Studio Manager because the dream is to have her own studio. To run her studio, Brooke must be able to know how to deal with the chemicals from the glazes and how to use equipment such as the gas kiln. With the guidance of Professor Nate, her Ceramics and 3-D Sculpture professor, she is learning many things, little by little.
The maker at work.
Brooke loves to spend the majority of her time in the ceramics room located at the AMC, throwing clay or using the wheel to create her 3-D artwork. Brooke likes to refer to herself as a “maker” rather than an artist because she believes that becoming an artist is a title that one achieves. She currently refers to herself as a kid that has just begun learning to create.
Brooke gets her inspiration from the Greeks for throwing, and the Japanese for glazing and styling. She finds the craftsmanship of the Greeks the hallmark of throwing, and loves how the Japanese have the simplicity but also the elegance of a simple brush stroke. Brookes’s go-to color pallet in her daily life is blue.
“I’m a blue girl. Shoes, coats… Most things I own are blue. But when I am creating, I guess, I am thinking about what the pieces are calling for. Like this, for instance, I look at the form first. And then I decide if it’s light or dark. For some reason, I decide this form will be light.”
Brooke hopes that those who hold her art are conscious of the craftsmanship, since people nowadays are used to just eating out of plates that are manufactured and forget that they’re eating out of something that was once clay. Brooke prefers that, as a “maker,” she makes functional ceramics.
During her junior year of high school, Brooke felt that she had gotten it just right. She had the support of her high school mentor and teacher who gently encouraged her into the path that she is currently on today. It has not been easy for Brooke because of her dyslexia and not feeling right studying for two years as a History Major. At first, being in the studio was a way to escape from stress. However, now she is fully embracing it. And we can’t wait to see more!
“What made me start to keep going into the path, it was an unconscious decision, this is what I thrive in, in this area. I need to accept it. And I am still struggling with that. It feels good, it feels right, it is a lot less disturbing. It’s rough, trying to fit a square peg into a round hole for the past two years. You know? It’s not right. You gotta face it eventually.”
To support our AQ artist, go check out Brooke’s Instagram page @redrubberrib.
Categories: Culture, Uncategorized
The Saint 