Sculptor Christina Bothwell creates works that seamlessly combine glass with ceramics. These are mainly sculptures that blend wildlife made of glass with human beings made of ceramics. In an interview with Colossal, Bothwell affirms that the translucent parts of her sculptures (the glass) “Are meant to suggest the soul or that part of us that is more than just our bodies.” Meanwhile, its ceramic portions represent the more grounded and tangible parts of human life such as bodies and the inorganic materials that they associate with.
When audiences reconcile Bothwell’s pattern of thought with how her pieces have mostly rendered the natural world in glass and human beings in ceramics, it can be inferred that she is suggesting a spiritual connection between human beings with the natural world. Here, Bothwell is giving Mother Nature a sort of apotheosis, taking the natural world into a whole new level of importance in human life. As seen in different cultures of the world, where nature is deemed a deity, this consciousness also leads to a natural need to protect and conserve the environment, all so that humanity does not risk losing its soul. This is why the glass and ceramic sculptures by Christina Bothwell are relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Life on Land and Life Below Water.
In another interview with 12th Street Journal, Bothwell stated her understanding of living beings as energies that extend beyond the confines of their physical bodies. “We are connected to one another and to all of life—we are a part of our ecosystem,” she underlined during the interview. Hence, a core reading of Bothwell’s work involves understanding that the connection between all life on the planet exists beyond the physical world. This spiritual understanding speaks of interconnected souls that have come from a single universal soul, a part of Buddhist teachings that then dictates how animals and plants can reincarnate as human beings and vice versa.
Christina Bothwell’s surrealist glass and ceramic sculptures delve into humanity’s spiritual connection with the natural world, portraying a profound interplay between the tangible and the ethereal. By using glass to represent the soul and ceramics to depict the physical body, her works elevate nature to a divine status, reflecting its vital role in human life. Bothwell’s art suggests that all living beings are interconnected energies, transcending physical boundaries and emphasizing the importance of environmental conservation. Her sculptures encourage audiences to preserve the environment as a means of safeguarding humanity’s own spiritual essence.
Find out more about surrealist glass and ceramic sculptures and other pieces by Christina Bothwell on her website www.christinabothwell.com or Instagram @christina.bothwell.