This year marks half a century since the founding of the Commonwheel Artists Co-op. In that time, the co-op has grown and blossomed along with Manitou Springs, and now includes 39 talented creatives in its ranks.
Nicole Copel is one of those talented creatives. A ceramic artist, her porcelain and stoneware clay pieces are made on a potter’s wheel and, she says, sculpted “to enhance curves and directional flow in the forms.” Her work is then fired in a soda kiln.
“In a soda kiln, you spray a mixture of soda ash (sodium carbonate) dissolved in hot water into the kiln at high temperature – 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit,” Copel explains. “This is carried through the kiln and onto the surface of the clay pieces, reacting with the clay body, producing an earthy, textural glaze finish and directional markings. This creates a rich background for colorful, buoyant shapes and grounding, incised lines found on my work.”
Copel creates contemporary utilitarian ceramic pieces, as well as arrangements, groupings, and stacked sets. “These pieces rely on their interdependence,” Copel says. “How we as people interface and interact with one another, as well as build upon and grow from our interactions, are ideas that inform this work.”
Copel holds a master’s degree in Ceramics. In addition to being a full time studio clay artist, she is a part-time adjunct ceramics instructor at Colorado State University-Pueblo. She lives in La Veta, Colorado, with her husband and two cats.
“The Pikes Peak Region is loaded with artists and art of all kinds and people who support the arts,” she says. “I love being a part of this vibrant art scene located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.”
Commonwheel Artists Co-op
Nicole Copel
102 Cañon Ave., Manitou Springs, CO 80929
719-685-1008
Commonwheel.com
NicoleCopelCeramics.com
