Artist Bio
Charlotte Poulsom is a visual artist specializing in glass work. She was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta where she is currently based while attending the University of Calgary.
Having lived with Type 1 Diabetes since age nine, her work employs glass blowing, sculpting, and engraving techniques alongside audio, visual and mixed-media components to provide an intimate look into the experiences of an individual living with a chronic illness. Charlotte continues to explore different materials and techniques including flame and metal working to broaden and diversify the scope of her artistic practice to include wearable and functional pieces.
Artist Statement
I have been living with Type 1 diabetes since the age of nine and through my practice, am investigating the ways in which the condition has affected my body both mentally and physically. I am interested in the intersections between the life-sustaining therapies used to manage diabetes, and the damaging effects they have on the body. Based off of my fourteen-year experience with the condition, my work aims to portray the accumulative and enduring effects of chronic illness management. I do not aim to dramatize or victimize life with an illness such as mine, rather I hope to call attention to how it has shaped my relationship and experience with my body, and what life might look like through the lens of chronic illness, presently onto the future.
Focusing on these ideas, the visual language and processes I am exploring manifest as translations of the actions and treatments that have become ingrained into my daily routine. As my illness requires vigilant engagement with the inner and outer workings of my body, I aim to create forms with corporeal qualities to create a visceral experience which mimics that which I have with my body daily. In considering both the inner and outer spaces of the glass, I can investigate these issues through repeated mark-making on the surface, using colour to evoke a sense of the body and of blood, and piercing and distorting the surface, transgressing the boundaries between “skin” and “body.” The two hot and cold states in which glass exists allow me to capture and emphasize the effects that a condition like Type 1 diabetes has on an individual, making visible what is not always obvious.
Expanding into multi-media and performance, my current work explores the incorporation of my body into the work through video, sound, and the use of personal domestic items alongside the glass. Keeping in mind the physical qualities of the glass medium and the human body, I continue to explore the parallels and juxtapositions that exist in the space where they come together to highlight their simultaneous strength and fragility.
CV
Education
2021-Current, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB | BEd with specialization in Secondary Fine Arts
2016-2021, Alberta University of the Arts, Calgary, AB | BFA with Distinction in Glass Work
Work Experience
2019-2020, First Year Studies/Undeclared Major Show and Sale Department Representative, Alberta University of the Arts Student Association, Calgary, AB
2018-2019, Passion for Glass Gallery and Studio, Calgary, AB
Awards, Fellowships, Grants
2021 BMO 1st Art! Award Nominee
2021 AUArts Board of Governors Graduating Student Award Recipient
2020 Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Scholarship / Mary Blakely Fellowship
2020 AUArts Pilchuck Glass School Partner Scholarship
2019-2020 AUArts Presidents Honour Roll
2019 Tyman and Victor Brosz Memorial Glass Scholarship
2019 Louise McKinney Post-Secondary Scholarship
2018, 2019, 2021 Jason Lang Scholarship
Exhibitions
2020 Marion Nicoll Gallery Virtual Solo Exhibition, Calgary, AB
2020 Coven Gallery Virtual Solo Exhibition, Calgary, AB
2020 Silica and Soda Virtual Winter Glass Show and Sale, Calgary, AB
2020 Silica and Soda October Glass Show and Sale, Bee Kingdom Glass, Calgary, AB
2019 Glass Exhibition, AUArts, Calgary, AB
2018-2020 AUArts SA Biannual Show and Sale, Calgary, AB
2018 Glass Department Cabinet Gallery, AUArts, Calgary, AB
2018 Glass Exhibition, AUArts, Calgary, AB
2018 Media Arts Exhibition, AUArts, Calgary, AB
Conference Presentations
*Postponed* | “Chronic Illness Through a Glass Lens”, 2023 GAAC Conference, Whitehorse, YK
Professional Development
2021 Course with Hank Murta Adams, Pilchuck School of Glass, Stanwood, WA
2020 Inglewood Night Market Vendor, Calgary, AB
2020 Workshop by John Kiley, Calgary, AB
2019 Tuscany Community Association Holiday Sale, Calgary, AB
2020 Workshop by Jay Macdonell, Calgary, AB
2019 Course with Sarah Gilbert and Jára Šára, Pilchuck School of Glass, Stanwood, WA
2019 Workshop with Alex Anagnostou, Calgary, AB
2018-2019 AUArts SA Biannual Show and Sale Participant
2018 Tuscany Community Association Holiday Sale, Calgary, AB
2018 GAS Conference, Murano, Italy
2018 Workshop with Grant Garmezy, Calgary, AB
2017 Workshop with Jaan Andres. Calgary, AB
2017 Workshop with Benjamin Kikkert, Calgary, AB
Volunteer Experience
2018-2020 AUArts SA Biannual Show and Sale Event Volunteer, AUArts, Calgary, AB
2019 Glass Student Club Event Co-coordinator, AUArts, Calgary, AB
Memberships
2020-Current Silica and Soda Glass Art Collective Member
2019-Current GAAC Member
2019-Current Alberta Craft Council Member
2018-Current GAS Member