nicole moan

Balance is an essential to Nicole Moan, the balance between the functional and the whimsical, between strength and beauty. She must weigh both her artistic instincts and her practical needs, and those disparate elements converge in her vibrant ceramic corsets, her unique wearable sculptures. Nicole Moan was born in Irving, Texas into a family of artists and interior designers. She would live in over five states and attend over 10 schools, finally settling in Oklahoma. Over time, her parents began bringing her along for projects and showed her skills of the trade. Nicole began working with clay in junior high, but initially resisted following her parents into the art world, choosing to pursue a career as a mechanic. However, as Nicole put it, "the creative urge would not leave me alone," and eventually, her love of tile and ceramic reemerged. One of her first artistic tile jobs came as a result of an encounter with a customer, while she was working at a home improvement store. Her tile work became more elaborate and experimental, and those instincts led her to branch out with her designs. Nicole first entertained the idea of shifting her abilities from tile to clothing eight years ago when she wanted to develop a corset that fit her more comfortably than the traditional designs utilizing wires or boning. The ceramic would hug the entire torso, instead of placing uneven pressure along the abdomen and would also allow for elaborate designs sculpted into the piece. A market quickly emerged that pulled clients from the gallery crowd and the fashionistas. Over the years, the corsets became lighter and stronger and her visibility grew. Nicole's ceramic corsets are as diverse as her clientele. The designs can be sleek and elegant, or witty with pop culture references or even dark and intimidating, with bondage overtones. Each ceramic corset is an individual work that are often designed to customer specifications and fitted to their body type. Nicole's work has attracted both national and international attention, having made an appearance at the Black and Blue Ball in New York City, countless regional solo and group exhibitions, and a run in the Swatch Alternative Fashion Week in London. Because of the intricacy of her craft, Nicole will never be the standard fashion designer mass producing off-the-rack wear for department stores. She works on three corsets at a time in a process that spans three weeks.