As a child, my mom used the word “imagination” but what I heard was “magic nation”. I desperately wanted to know where this “magic nation” was …and when I could visit. She said, “It’s the place you go, where all your dreams come true”. That’s where I live now, in my own “magic nation” where I make art, work in my garden and play with my dogs…a world where anything is possible. I grew up in an eccentric southern family. 0ur family home in Natchez, Mississippi has been on tour since the 1930’s. Each tourist season, the locals dress in antebellum costumes to “receive” the tourists. My grandmother, with thirteen grandchildren total, made new costumes every year. I can still see her sewing frantically, ribbons flying, piles of fabric everywhere and at least six small girls twirling around in hoop skirts and ruffled pantalets waiting for their dresses to be complete. Her attic was, and still is, full of vintage clothes, 1940’s hats, costumes, bolts of fabric, old paintings, broken furniture, and piles of books. We dressed up all summer long, for all the years of my child hood. Every time I visit, still today, I find myself in some over- the- top hat, with fabric bunched under my arm, flipping through a book on castles or palm reading. This attic in my grandmother’s house was the physical form of the “magic nation” of my childhood. My work comes from these experiences. It is my way of playing and, like a child, my play is my work. It is how I express myself. It is the language I understand. I love the process, the repetition, and the feeling of magic every time I open the kiln door. I get great pleasure from knowing that others can enjoy my work. They can take it home with them and use it every day. By making pots, I get to share my “magic nation” in a way that words cannot explain.

Asheville

NC

Angelique Tassistro is a nationally-recognized ceramic artist who creates functional pottery with a sculptural approach. Her belief in the magic of creativity inspired her signature process, original aesthetic in the realm of ceramics, award-winning career, and the bolstering of Asheville’s celebrated arts scene. Angelique's work is playful and vibrant, with architecturally-influenced forms made alive with layers of color and dynamic lines. She uses a unique subtractive process to work backwards in time through the layers of visual information previously added to her pots. In 2010, Angelique was selected to be one of WNC's Top 10 Emerging Artists. She’s undoubtedly a rising star in the ceramic world, with numerous recent publication credits and inclusion in the 2011 Ceramics Monthly Top 15 National Emerging Clay Artists. Angelique’s studio is nestled in the River Arts District of Asheville and is open to the public Monday through Saturday 11 am - 4 pm or by appointment. Visit the studio at 5 River Arts Place Suite 101, Asheville NC 28801, located within Curve Studios, a converted industrial building in the heart of Asheville's River Arts District that is home to working artists and galleries.