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.
11″h x 9”w x 4.5”d
10.5″h x 9″w x 4″d
Ceramic
17″h x 8”w x 7”d
ceramic
Why, a friend asked, do you sculpt so many women who seem sad?
I did not know that I had. With this piece, suggestive of a Rohingya migrant, I did not intend to sculpt a sad person. While her clothes are tattered, her bearing suggests beauty. She cradles an injured bird. Poor in coin she is rich in care. The same is true for many women the world over … whatever tragedy or misfortune they endure. She is but a symbol.
8″ x 8″ x 3″
Making mugs is a staple for ceramicists. Whether beginners or proficient, whether production potters or one-of-a-kind enthusiasts, whether artists who throw mugs on a wheel or construct them from slabs, all have excelled at cup-making. From the perspective of marketing that is understandable. Year after year as the holiday seasons roll around, mugs are what sell.
I found cup making boring even tedious, that is until I received an email from one of my brother’s grandchildren. He wanted to give his grandparents a surprise gift …something they would really like…something personal to them. He wondered if I had anything he could afford! Even a “dented” piece would be okay.
While I’m not sure what a dented ceramic would look like, I began to think about his request. I found it touching as well as enlivening.
The gift turned out to be the two mugs pictured here. If you look closely you will see the word “Ragtime” embedded near the rim of each cup. That is the name of their sailboat.
My brother and his wife were delighted with the thoughtfulness of their grandchild. The young man is as pleased-as-punch with himself.
Since that time I have enjoyed making unique mugs for others. That is his gift to me.
“Six Shooter”
14″ x 14″ x 11″
Ceramic, steel, gun parts, aloe vera plant, dirt
Rifle barrels (part of Santa Fe’s buy back program to lessen gun violence) have been forged into six leaves that seemingly grow from a live Aloe Vera plant known for its healing qualities. Together they grow from desert soil. The clay bowl, already transformed by fire, holds out hope that the gun culture can change.
This piece, simple as it is, was difficult to sculpt. Gun steel, because of its carbon content, is so much harder than mild steel. I have the blisters as proof.
It is difficult to forge gun parts into art. To change ourselves is troublesome enough. To lessen gun violence even more challenging.
12” x 8” x 6”
ceramic NFS
bronze
John Baptist De La Salle was a French priest taken by the needs of disadvantaged youth. Born to privilege, he dared to establish schools for poor children. The work led him to inspire young men to join him in the work. To gain their trust he relinquished his 17th century family status, distributed his wealth, moved in with the men and called them Brothers. Together they bloomed into a worldwide community who–until recently–numbered over eighteen thousand men educating tens of thousands of youngsters, largely the poor and underserved. For thirty years I was one of those men. While now married for a quarter century, the Brothers influenced my life in remarkable ways. In turn, they have also influenced my life as a ceramic artist. This sculpture is of the man before he died. It mirrors his tiredness as well as depth of character.
