Malleable,
forgiving, multifunctional and fun, clay is my medium of choice.
It is a constant challenge for me: the technical aspects of
the clay, the alchemy of glazing,the magic of firing, and the
transformation of mud into something permanent. My exploration
with clay began at the Newport Art Museum in 1989. It was quickly
followed by ongoing classes at Providence College, RISD, and
Rhode Island College, and numerous workshops and seminars. I
received a BA from Boston University in 1975. Currently, I am
a member of the Water Street Clay Studio in Warren Rhode Island
and the Deblois Gallery in Newport, RI.
The
Giriama people of southeastern Kenya erect vigango, (carved
funerary posts), as memorials for their powerful and wealthy
male elders. Initially they are brightly painted and dressed
and then left to decay.
In
my contemporary manifestation, those worthy of remembering,
(male, female, young, old, powerful and not), are represented
by their essence: in this instance wisdom, compassion, and
hope. These vigango are "dressed" in colors that correspond
to the chakra they emanate from, hung with individual portraits,
and embellished with porcelain berry vines, left not to decay,
but to grow.
Beyond
the obvious, clay balanced atop metal topiary forms, vigango
attest to the idea that a balanced people pay tribute to their
past as they look toward their future. And what is worthy
of memorializing is not power and wealth, but virtue.
The
pieces are titled: vigango - compassion; vigango - hope; vigango
- wisdom.
VIGANGO,
high fired stoneware, metal,: 2'x2'x8' each (three pieces),
2002. Photo: Dennis Grady
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