Mary Margaret Sims is a ceramic and multimedia artist exploring ritual and inner landscapes through object and environment. She earned her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) with a major in ceramics and a minor in entrepreneurial studies. Mary Margaret was a part of the Project Network program in Skælskør, Denmark as well as a Fab Lab Resident at Haystack School of Craft in Deer Isle, Maine. She was a recipient of the Anderson Ranch Internship and Professional Development Award and went on to work as a studio assistant. In her work she uses industrial ceramics techniques to create functional, ritualistic objects with luscious forms in a playful color palette.
My work is about personal ritual. I create ceramic objects that are intended to be used in everyday routines for rest and relaxation. My forms are each designed to fulfill or elevate a specific ritual in my life, ranging from smoke ware sets to ice cream bowls, vessels for burning incense, and light fixtures. They become part of a slowing-down act, providing the space for myself and others to be present in mind and body. I am inspired by the aesthetics of Space Age design (1954-1964). After the Great Depression, WWII and the launch of Sputnik, there was optimism about the future of space explorations. During that time, the elevated design of mundane objects was intended to provide hope and a betterment of daily life for their users. Verner Panton, a designer of the time who is particularly influential for me, created interiors that evoke relaxation and connection through a unified environment. Through his lens, I have come to understand that having a shared moment with others can bring life to the pieces I make. As a designer and maker involved in the conception of ideas through to the finished product, I use digital design and methods borrowed from industrial processes to create my ceramics. My aim is to make luscious, closed forms with a suggestion of breath held inside offering a sense of fullness and relaxation. My use of thick glazes, in a range of soft bright colors, often with small colored bits of texture on the surface, invite touch and playfulness. My rug tufting serves to create mood and environment which complement these ceramics forms.