Ceramic Sculpture

 

Clay Covered Hands

Heavy, sulfur-tainted air pierces the senses, imbedding itself in tangled hair and skin as it drifts haphazardly through mossy grasses, bursting, like fingers desperate to be grasped, through the ashen mud beneath it. This is the notorious Florida marshland. The putrid aroma and jet black peat that compose these bog-like territories are usually enough to set anyone off of wandering too deeply within its mysterious trenches. Yet, buried deep within the Earth’s belly lie the tales of ancient people who once roamed this seemingly inhospitable land. Through their unearthing, archaeologists have tapped the untainted sap that pulses through the veins of time itself.

The clay body reflects a multi-sensory narrative of the human experience within the natural world, embodying the pivotal beliefs, rituals, and ideology behind death and life thereafter of Florida's first people, in order to reexamine present-day interaction with the natural realm in the face of industrialism.

Body of Work

* This collection is created with red and white low fire clay, with attention to glaze and slip experimentation in order to achieve texture and patterning typically found in higher fire glazes. Rooted in the southwestern desert and mountain scapes, the artist reflects heavily on her sense of place and experiencing the natural world through the five senses. Much of the materials used for glaze were collected during the duration of the semester.

Desert inspired. Weaving of palm frawns highlighting the interweaving of memory, time, story and nature.

Matte glaze on white clay. Sgraffito technique done to create patterning. A combination of madder natural stain, water and pollen derived from anther of lily.

Black matte on white clay. Palm frawn collected in St. Augustine, FL

Form and texture  inspired by natural formations found in Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, Bloomfield, NM. Grasses wrapped in hemp and painted with natural pigment collected in St. Augustine, FL. 

Combining multiple glazes and raw umber pigment to create a dimensional glaze. Interior adorned with beeswax and natural pigment.

Sands collected from Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, Bloomfield, NM, paired with white clay create the textural exterior. Additional glazing technique and multiple firings add additional textural components. Meant to reflect similarity to lichen species found on the desert rock surfaces in the Southwest.

Hemp braided and woven together is added to this piece.

Sgraffito method. Madder stain applied in multiple layers to reflect red undertones

reliminary research on early forms prehistoric drawings of Navajo artwork shaped the figures present on this form.

Charcoal and ash slip harvested from a campfire in St. Augustine, FL. Additional organic matter pulled from the fire pit incorporated into the slip. Multiple firings and additions of glaze and natural pigment create the final state of this piece.

Matte and gloss. Copper wire individually incorporated into piece.

Experimental glaze slip created from sands found in Moab, UT and Canyon of the Ancients, CO. Addition of burned matches and matte black glaze.

Studio and Field 

Organic form. 

Shapes inspired by sun-bleached drift wood found cast along shore in Jacksonville, FL.  Movement and fluidity are manifested here to encompass time, which is also evident within these milky white limbs of the fallen trees. Copper wiring or palm leaves will be added to the the final pieces. Due to the texture of these pieces, lighter more neutral colors will be applied. (depending on glaze experimentation, slips made from sediment collected from site will be used)   

Deep wrinkles etched into the bleached limbs of trees from sun exposure. 

Texture inspiration.

 Boneyard Beach FL

'Wood Ash' slip applied to ceramic piece.

First slip made from local wood ash collected in fire pit applied to ceramic piece. Material includes clay, water and ash (not sifted in order to add texture and potential color variations). This is the first of many tweaks and experimentation with making wood ash slip to create a more textures and "raku"-esque final product. 

After conducting considerable research on creating slips and glazes using locally sourced natural materials, this was the first attempt at making a "wood ash" glaze.   The slip consists clay, water and the sourced ash. I didn't sift it fully as I want to see how larger chunks of charcoal which are carbon rich, will react within the kiln. 

My driver behind making these glazes and slips was to connect one step further with the clay and nature. By physically going out to explore different areas and scavenge for minerals, ash, wood, basically anything that will give me the textural element I am looking for, I was emersing myself back into the natural realm.

Natural material collected on outing during GTM NERR hike on Vilano Beach, FL. These will be incorporated with clay pieces later on. The chalky rock will be ground down to add to a slip and the rusted iron will be scraped, the flakes used within glaze.  

Here are glaze tiles done early on within the semester. Both red and white clay pieces were done to see how a glaze would interact with the body color. Texture and patterning were added as well as experimenting with glaze combinations. 

Rock formations found in sediment layer on Boneyard Beach, FL.

Texture inspiration.

Fallen trees due to coastal erosion. Form inspiration. Boneyard Beach, FL.  

Natural textures and shape found during site visit at Boneyard Beach, FL. The texture and color of these rock formations are absolutely stunning and something I would love to replicate within my body of work.

Exploring areas and looking for new and inspiring textures and patterns has really been a major driver in sparking new forms. 

Preliminary Research

'Naked Raku and Related Bare Clay Techniques'

After studying prehistoric ceramic techniques, this guide provided a foundation for creating glazes and slips that expressed texture and natural pattern. Although the raku style firing is traditionally done with high fire, I have explored recreating similar textures and style through multiple mediums and glaze combinations. Material high in carbon, such as horse hair can be flash burned onto a ceramic vessel to create unique veins that move across the piece, which mimic both sources of water and the veins that snake across our hands. Exploring this notion of water, both as a life force and destructive entity is an aspect that is highlighted into my pieces, whether that be through interaction with water....through adversity, we rise again. 

'Clay Contemporary Ceramic Artists' 

This book highlights modern ceramic artists in the 21st. century and was a great aid for glaze work and adding textures to my pieces. First introduction to ash slips and adding textures with alternative materials were mentioned within, which sparked my curiosity. Although most of these pieces are done using high to mid fire, it set me on a path of experimentation. 

'Making Ash Slip'

'5 Senses' 

Exploring the senses in order to further develop the concept of a multi-sensory collection. Touch plays a fundamental role in how I relate to my environment and world, therefore texture and movement are essential in my work. Interaction with the clay medium, is crucial in understanding it's profundity. Sight, Smell, perceiving sound, taste, will all be further explored through the display and later work. I have started to record the sounds around me as I am out in nature, capturing the birds in flight, the swaying of tree limbs in the wind, collecting native scented woods and plants to incorporate. 

Windover Underwater Burial Pond Archaeological Site 

    Situated within the muddy confines of an algae crusted pond in Tuttsville Florida sits one of the most renowned wetland archaeology sites in North America. Buried deep within the belly of Windover pond lie the stories of hundreds of mummified bodies. Through their unearthing archaeologists have tapped the veins the historic realm of these ancient bog people. The discovery, which occurred in 1982, was set to the whirring hum and scrapping of tools against soil. A developmental plan had currently been underway to erect yet another cardboard cutout subdivision along the Indian River. However, one laborer made. The shocking discovery that the area he had been clearing out was riddled with skulls. This later led to the remains of almost 170 naturally preserved prehistoric aboriginals that dated all the way back to date between 6,990 to 8,120 years ago.

Typically, the high acidity of Florida’s soil and scorching heat results in the rapid deterioration of remains (including material-based artifacts), however, this wasn’t the case with the Windover bog site. The area possessed distinct characteristics which included unusually high pH (low acidity) and an anoxic environment that preserved the skeletal remains and kept intact the fragile organic material such as the woven textiles that had elaborately been wrapped around the deceased bodies.

Doran, Glen H. Windover: Multidisciplinary Investigations of an Early Archaic Florida Cemetery. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002.

This is a comprehensive report on the unique Windover site, and the artifacts found within the massive submerged burial site that resides on the outskirts of Tallahassee, Florida. Doran, who is a key researcher in several of these sources, looks to provide an exhaustive documentation of the site itself and the artifacts, excavation and research techniques,  the surrounding ecosystem, lastly, and most importantly, the context of this site within a larger archaeological scope. Provides a thorough description of the site and how it was discovered. Contains close examinations of the artifacts present including bone, antler and dentary tools, textile and wood. He analyzes the mortuary patterns and layout of the site, paleoecological information including pollen analysis, and the findings of human DNA recovered.

Klingle, David, Adam. “Burial in Florida: Culture, Ritual, Health, and Status: the Archaic to Seminole Periods.” Florida State University, 2006.

A closer examination of the rituals, demographics, status differences in association with gender, the burials and artifacts present within burials spanning the Florida region over an 8,000 year period. This is approximately 43 sites, and done by assessing both biological and ritualistic data collections. The major factors that this thesis  centers around include:  site layout and features, burial type, ceramics and grave goods present  as well as their association to individuals, sex and age, and  health. By looking at multiple sites over a period of time, this thesis highlights the change in rituals and hierarchy, which reveal a societal complexity linked to status. This also focuses a lot on health which doesn’t pertain to my current research but provided ample background information on these sites. 

McGoun, William E. Prehistoric Peoples of South Florida. Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 2010.

Prehistoric Peoples of South Florida analyzes the past prehistoric residents of southern Florida from 10,000 B.C. to European invasion and analyzes the ways in which they adapted and interacted with their environment through time. Southern Florida has a unique environment and thus so are the people who resided there. The cultural system which remained in continuity for over 10,000 years and varying theories are tackled. This consolidates the latest discussions and studies related to southern florida sites. 

Morris, Theodore, and Jerald T. Milanich. Floridas Lost Tribes. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2004.

  Explores Florida's ancient past, revealing the complex nature of its vanished heritage and constructing a pictorial record of the residing pre-Columbian tribes that have long been forgotten through the centuries. The work is intertwined to create a multifaceted piece of work through detailed images and an intricate tale of Florida’s past. The artist's paintings and drawings are based on historical evidence and with archaeologists and anthropologists at excavation sites throughout the state. Milanich, the archaeologist and author, provides an overview of the various tribes represented in the paintings and questions the ethnographic accuracy of 16th-century engravings depicting Florida’s indigenous people and the settlement of Fort Caroline. These engravings are thought to be based on lost paintings by the cartographer Jacques Le Moyne. However, Milanich argues that de Bry relied heavily on images of other New World Indians, including Amazonian tribes, and that Le Moyne's Florida paintings might not exist. If this notion proves to be accurate, the images created by Morris become more significant as a model and educational tool. The book also highlights the timeline of Florida’s prehistoric Indians up to the present and includes a website address with links to museums and archaeological sites

Selu: Seeking the Corn Mother's Wisdom

 Selu: Seeking the Corn Mothers Wisdom, weaves the past Cherokee tales and rituals with modern indigenous issues, including assimilation, land and water rights and interaction with the land. The novel approaches the complex and multifaceted experience through ancient wisdoms, tales, science and ecology, poems and personal experiences to define the current destructive nature of modern human culture. It both a cultural and personal dialogue that is a fundamental read for the health and vitality of the planet and the human race. 

One particular historic event, Awiakta highlights in her writing is the Tellico damming in Tennessee which flooded sacred Cherokee land. Cries of protest fell on deaf ears, and media coverage turned a blind eye to the heart breaking event, highlighting the repeated pattern of indigenous suffrage we see over and over again within our culture. The masculine vs. the feminine, industrialism,  finding peace and equality with the earth in a society dictated by power and greed. These are all themes, I try to interwork within my pieces. Each telling the twisted tale of man and nature.