6″ x 6” x 0.5”
Ceramic tile
12″h x 4”w x 3”d
Ceramic
In the Hebrew and Christian scriptures Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge. For whatever reason, they did. Shame followed and they searched to cover themselves. Who has not seen classic paintings and sculptures of Adam and Eve with their genital areas hidden by fig leaves?
The Islamic scriptures have a similar story of the transgression. However after the Fall, as Adam and Eve searched for leaves to cover themselves, the Muslim tradition has it that God enjoined them to cover themselves with a vail of modesty, not greenery.
I have tried to sculpt this Eve to embody that tradition. Her arms are raised and her head is thrown back as if unafraid to be seen. While the vail is modest it accents the fact that she is undeniably a woman.
Te Deum
36″ x 24″ x 60″
Steel
9″ x 9″ x 9″
Twice yearly a dozen or so ceramicists from the Santa Fe and Taos areas place their wheel-thrown or slab-built pieces in a large pit lined with horse bedding. Dried coffee grounds, sea weed, horse hair, salt, copper wire, plant fertilizers — and whatever else artists want to add — are sprinkled judiciously in the pit. Hard wood is added and the heap set ablaze. It smolders for a day.
When uncovered there are oohs and aaahs, surprises and disappointments, at what had been created. Mine was a long aaah.
The gold accent lines were painted afterward
11″ x 10″ x 5″
Bulls try to unseat unwelcome riders at Rodeos. Matadors taunt these giants to the point of rage and then orchestrate their killing under the guise of sport. I find it all disconcerting.
I sculpted this charging bull with s small red bird riding on its back. I have had the opportunity to visit Tanzania a few times. There I witnessed birds hitching a taxi ride on the backs of lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos and all manner of four legged creatures. Someone told me that the birds were looking for their next meal of insects.
To me the bull and its rider is an image of a this-worldly peaceable world … rather than of Wall Street or misplaced sport.
14″ x 7″ x 6″
Unless you live in the Southwest, ravens are noisy maligned creatures. Their squawk is strident. They are also a little menacing as they sit on high perches ready to swoop down whenever a meal is in sight. Few seem to admire them with the same interest we bestow on songbirds or those of color.
Evidently ravens are among the smartest of all birds. They play, solve problems, and communicate well. There is even the theory that they pass on some life-saving behaviors to their offspring genetically (rather than having to teach the young). In other words, ravens are smart.
Little wonder that some Native American peoples depict ravens in human form. I follow that tradition. My raven is dressed as an aristocrat, even regal in bearing.. Her cope is gold, her tunic burgundy. Her hand rests over her heart.
This raven is my reminder to look twice at everyone and everything.
Steel: 22″h x 22″w x 22″d
Wood base: 34″h x 22″w x 15″d
Steel: 32h x 22w x 15d
Wood base: 32″h x 15″w x 10″d
