Ocean Advocacy via Ceramics - Courtney Mattison

Delicate, colorful and exceptionally detailed coral reefs made entirely from ceramics.

There are perhaps no creatures more fascinating than corals. Brightly colored, anatomically clever and altogether otherworldly, you only get the opportunity to discover these strange beings on camera, or by getting wet.

American artist Courtney Mattison, however, brings this exquisite underwater world onto dry land, with her remarkably realistic ceramic coral reefs. But she has another goal in mind too.

Mattison studied both marine ecology and ceramics at University and has a Masters in Environmental Studies. She is a passionate ocean advocate and uses her artwork to promote marine conservation awareness, describing herself as an ‘artivist’. She has produced several exhibitions for both artistic and scientific spaces, hand-sculpting and hand-painting the intricate details to expose the beautiful delicacy and important fragility of these eco-systems.

On her website she comments: “Not only does the chemical structure of my work parallel that of a natural reef, but the brittle porcelain anemone tentacles break easily if improperly handled, similar to the delicate bodies of living reef organisms.”

Check out her website and Instagram for more inspiring marine artworks.

Via Colossal and creativeboom.