Common Ground – 002

Determining what form(s) to make for this project has been challenging and interesting.
For the last year and a half or so I have been making mostly pieces with large, integral feet. For the last 15-20 years I have made hundreds of different versions of eggs and spheres, many of them mounted on some type of pedestal. Most recently I have been making pieces that are vaguely anatomical and also referential to many different types of functional and historical pottery.

So when thinking about what to make for Common Ground my mind naturally returns to familiar themes, yet operating within a new context. The egg as a symbol of birth / renewal, structural integrity and strength offers a potentially fitting symbol of societal characteristics we are in need of. The sphere as well, as a symbol of infinity, strength, universality, etc. could also be a fitting aspirational metaphor. The next consideration is if one of those forms should sit on a pedestal, stand alone precariously, or stand firmly on a large foot or foundation. Should the piece have (hand(le)s) or ears…hands to join, ears to listen…both human actions that seem to be lacking at the moment.

In the end I decided that the simple gesture of making a form that is open, rather than closed like an egg or sphere, was the right move. An open form as aspirational metaphor, standing on a strong foot / foundation, ready to receive, consider and hold new thoughts and opinions, with open hands and ears…all characteristics of the historical American narrative, yet also characteristics that seem to be increasingly missing from the national political and cultural discourse.

Similar logic was used to determine the shapes of the cup, bowl and plate for this project. As elegant as a small footed bowl is (I use one for breakfast every morning), it doesn’t convey the symbolic or functional stability of a lower, flat footed bowl. The plate will also be a simple form, wide and flat. And the cup will be similarly stable and simple, no handles, no decorative flourishes beyond what the common ground materials decide to make together in the fire.