Lauren Skelly Bailey seeks new ways of layering, swirling, forcing, bending, breaking and reusing the surfaces of her ceramic creations. In her newest body of work, older pots have been given new layers of ceramic materials resulting in new compositions of surface and color. Older parts of her practice become relevant, and important for good bones of new sculptures. By restarting the firing process, the work mirrors the cyclical life of a coral. More specifically how they are able to change their outer skins to reflect their inability to be sustained due to climate change such as, temperatures rising. While stress affects them to turn bright neon, and occasionally stark white from a bleaching event. They do come out of these events to live healthier lives. Each firing presents a new element to the piece furthering its transformation from fail to fixed, pushing the tension between materials and form. Skelly has apprenticed internationally and exhibited nationally. In 2018, Skelly showcased her installations, photographs, decorative vessels, and conglomerates in her first solo exhibition at the Museum of Arts & Design (MAD) in New York. At MAD, Skelly used New York City as source material to create a new index of found surfaces. During this exploration, Skelly documented the city texturally in the form of clay installations and sculptural works she created as an artist in residence in MAD’s Artist Studio Program in 2017. This past summer Skelly participated in the Caumsett Foundation’s inaugural season of artists in residence at the park. For 8 weeks Skelly explored, forged, and created vessels inspired by the grounds.