Coccolithophores - Ceramic Forms

Outdoor water-based ceramic sculpture Coccolithophores was first exhibited at Sculpture in Context at The National Botanic Garden, Dublin in 2009. Inspired by a microscopic algae organism – the Coccolithophore – the piece has gone on to be exhibited around the country.

Outside: Insight, Sculpture in the Gardens 2012, at Brigit’s Garden, Roscahill, Co. Galway.
Art in Action 2012 at Farmleigh House, Dublin.
Crafts Council of Ireland show garden at Bloom 2011, in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
Outside: Insight, Sculpture in the Gardens at Brigit’s Garden, Roscahill, Co. Galway in 2010.

Dimensions: original sculpture 2.5 m L x 1 m D x 1 m H. Individual spheres vary from 15-45cm diameter.

Price: original sculpture €5,000.

Limited number of individual spheres available for sale – €150-€695 depending on size.

My inspiration

What is a Cooccolithophore?

“Like any other type of phytoplankton, coccolithophores are one-celled marine plants that live in large numbers throughout the upper layers of the ocean. Unlike any other plant in the ocean, coccolithophores surround themselves with a microscopic plating made of limestone (calcite). These scales, known as coccoliths, are shaped like hubcaps and are only three one-thousandths of a millimeter in diameter.” Earth Observatory NASA.

Perhaps what fascinates me the most about microscopic organisms is that in many ways they are hidden to all but a few. All around us, organisms measured in microns – are living, dying, reproducing and adapting at an incredible rate.

Organisms that are so tiny only the most powerful microscope can see them and yet at times they exist in such infinitesimal numbers they can be seen from space! And so once again I am drawn to tiny organisms, neither plant nor animal but possessing a few traits of both.

Indeed, when we think about single-celled algae or Coccolithophores, we sometimes forget their beauty, strangeness and visual impact. But they are not only beautiful organisms they are also important ones too. Due to the possession of a calcium carbonate exoskeleton or scales, Coccolithophores have constituted a major part of the fine-grained sediment in our oceans for the last 230 million years.

The coccolithophore Gephyrocapsa Oceanica. Photo by NEON ja (own work), coloured by Richard Bartz [CC BY-SA 2.5] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 , via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGephyrocapsa_oceanica_color.jpg

Emiliania huxleyi (coccoliths) - single-celled marine phytoplankton that produce calcium carbonate scales. Image by Alison R. Taylor (University of North Carolina Wilmington Microscopy Facility) (PLoS Biology, June 2011) licenced under a Creative Commons licence, [CC BY 2.5] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5), via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEmiliania_huxleyi_coccolithophore_(PLoS).png

What Coccoliths (algae) lack in size they make up in volume. At any one time, a single Coccolithophore is attached to or surrounded by at least 30 scales or plates and scientists estimate that these organisms shed more than 1.5 million tons of calcite a year.

As a result, they are a significant player in the global carbon cycle and perhaps less obviously because they have been around as long as the dinosaurs, the fossil record of Coccoliths is of enormous geological value. Who would have thought the humble algae would be so important in the evolution of the Earth or indeed that they would have such an amazing visual appearance at a microscopic level?

When Coccolithophore meets optimum growth conditions, they become so abundant they can reach bloom proportions and they become detectable on satellite images as a dense cloud of turquoise. Microscopic yet visible from space – amazing!

Phytoplankton bloom off Ireland – Viewspace Caption: “Swirling clouds of blue and green lit the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland on June 2, 2006, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image. Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that grow in the sunlit surface waters of the ocean. When enough of the plants grow in one place, the bloom can be seen from space.” NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.

How was it made?

Coccolithophore is a hand-built and modelled ceramic water sculpture. My Coccoliths were formed by hand using a highly grogged crank paper clay and were high fired in an electric kiln to 1260°C (Cone 8). As each spherical form consists of layers of scales or plates my pieces were constructed by joining individual patches of clay together to form each sphere.

Studio process shot of ceramic sculpture 'Coccolithospores' by Michelle Maher. This ceramic sculpture was made using my own cranked paper clay body. The piece was inspired by a microscopic algae organisms the Coccolithospore & was hand built by overlapping paper clay patches. High fired in an electric kiln to 1260°C (Cone 8). www.ceramicforms.com

About ‘Sculpture in Context’

Outdoor water-based ceramic sculpture 'Coccolithophores' by Michelle Maher at Sculpture in the Gardens 2010 at Brigit's Garden, Co. Galway. The piece was inspired by a microscopic algae organisms the Coccolithophore. www.ceramicforms.com

“As you weave your way through the garden, you will discover sculptures in the most unexpected and surprising places. Ranging in size and materials, these works of art represent the richly diverse character of Irish and International contemporary sculpture today.”

Sculpture in Context is the largest and most prestigious outdoor sculpture exhibition in Ireland. Established in 1985 by a group of sculptors, their aim was to work on behalf of fellow sculptors to provide space for exhibiting work of sculpture in venues outside of their normal gallery context.

Thirty years on and Sculpture in Context has gone from strength to strength. Since 2002, the show has made its home in the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin which is annually transformed into a living art gallery.

Artists’ ingenuity, contemporary art and Mother Nature are wonderfully combined here and as the seasons change from summer to autumn, visitors are given a reason to return again and again to see the sculptures and the garden in ever changing conditions.

Sculpture receives a spectacular presentation in the Garden, which is laid out in a variety of settings including glasshouses, ponds and foliage – winding through the 50 acres of landscaped grounds. With over 160 sculptures, this is the most exciting outdoor sculpture exhibition in Ireland.

The show runs from the first week in September to the third week in October every year.