Charissa Brock

"Using bamboo, glass, and thread, I create highly crafted, intricate sculptures that reflect the natural world. Drawing inspiration from my materials, the landscape, and artifacts, I focus on using repetition to build abstract and narrative pieces."

Ideas for Brock's sculptures are drawn from many sources: the landscape, flora and fauna, archaeological artifacts, bamboo's unique growth patterns, and the ideas that come to the surface while working on a form. Brock's works range from strictly formal studies of pattern and line to narrative sculptures.

Brock's work begins in a bamboo grove, where she individually selects and harvests bamboo canes. Each cane is taken through a heat preparation process to create an archival material. The bamboo is then either split using traditional Japanese techniques to create long strips, or crosscut into small pieces and organized by size. Both initial techniques lead to form building.

Brock's mother, artist Emily Brock, was her first teacher. Charissa studied glass and fiber at College For Creative Studies in Detroit (BFA) and fibers at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia (MFA). Through informal mentorship with Jiro Yonezawa, she learned traditional bamboo tools and techniques. Workshops with Patrick Dougherty, Lissa Hunter, John Garrett, and John McQueen have all been a source of inspiration.