Earth & Twine



Earth & Twine

About The Artist

Linda Coss • Montague , NJ
Ceramics

Earth & Twine is a small batch ceramic company that produces meticulously hand-formed, ever changing designs of utilitarian wares which combine craftsmanship, design and functionality. The pieces created become part of everyday life, elevating the experience. Linda Coss, the designer and maker, methods vary between hand built and wheel thrown works. When pieces are leather hard they are carved using metal ribs.



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Q&A with the Artist

Tell us how your work is made.

Most pieces are hand formed, once leather hard, I use metal ribs to refine the pieces, some work is decorated using underglaze that is screen printed on rice paper. Once fired the pieces are finished with three different grades of diamond sandpaper. Jewelry is all one of a kind. Impressions are made with stamps that I create out of clay.


What makes you passionate about the medium you work with?

My mind is always going. I love making pieces that other ceramicist may not include in their offerings. The feel of my work always sets me apart from others. I spend a lot of time refining each piece....probably too much time. I also like making the clay look like something it is not. Is it metal, bone, ivory, or even wood? These are the questions I get asked?

What is something unique about you or your practice?

I love how my work is a representation of who I am. My mother is Vietnamese and my father is a retired carpenter. Wetting the rice paper to transfer onto the clay reminds me of all the Spring Rolls my mother has made for me and still does! As I sit with a bowl beneath my work and collect the clay shavings as I carve, I am brought back to my childhood and the smell of sawdust from my fathers workshop. Also I am a Montessori art teacher. I worked with clay in my 20s and then took a long break to raise a family. In my late thirties, I went back to school to finish my degree in Studio Art. The school I teach at does one clay project a year. When I reconnected with clay my work was more whimsical, inspired by my students. Thru the encouragement of some of my students parents I began to create a body of work. Each year I selected a new market to participate in. ACC was one of those and probably my proudest moment.