Crosland + Emmons’ Dana Castle
Artist and Ceramic Artisan
The mind behind Crosland + Emmons, Dana Castle, has had a creative journey from there and back again. Educated in the arts, she studied painting, life drawing, and art history, even spending some time abroad at the Beau Artes in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Castle worked in gallery management after graduating from school and eventually started her own marketing agency, which she ran for more than twenty years.
Castle married and raised two beautiful daughters, never forgetting the simple lifestyle of an artist as she lived and traveled. She closed the agency after the Covid-19 pandemic and has pursued being a full time artist ever since with ceramics at the center and the birth of Crosland + Emmons.
Jack Kerouac’s On the Road inspires Castle’s ongoing pursuits: “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time…mad to live.” She continues her work and personal discovery by pushing new directions and studying with other artists. She currently resides and works out of her studio in Savanah, Georgia.
Craft
Ceramics have been a lesson in freedom and humility for Castle. Being mostly self taught has allowed her to embrace the medium with an open mind for creation. Each Crosland + Emmons fixture began with single pieces mimicking the shapes of nature and the imperfect beauty of life. In making her creations into lighting, a connection between beauty and utility is born.
To Castle, lighting is the completion point to a space. It is part of the canvas of a room. Her designs are intentionally off balance and should be adjusted according to spatial needs, allowing it to only find an identity and purpose when it is finally home. The journey ends when these sculptural pieces are where they belong.
Material
Patience is key when it comes to ceramics. According to Castle, the material has memory; it needs to be handled with care and not rushed. Shapes may change along the way and every step of the process needs to be considered if final assembly is to be successful. In the beginning, there was a singular focus on shades of white, though Castle now experiments in black, too. By keeping her works monochromatic, she highlights the beauty of the clay bodies, focusing on indentions and textures on the surface. The rawness is slightly uncomfortable, but Castle is celebrating the finer details: untouched seams, varying shades in the void of color, rough edges, and imbalances. The glaring imperfections are as intentional as the final product.
These works reflect Castle’s life experiences. The struggles, losses, and mistakes, and also the joys, successes, and mountains.
