Civilized Wildlings

A collection of vessels informed by art nouveau pottery made in Bohemia at the turn of the century by Eduard Stellmacher and Paul Daschel, whose works were a celebration of the natural world. The forms were harmonious curves crawling with creatures from the forest with thick details and opulent glazes.

 The flora and fauna crawling over and growing around the forms I created are decidedly more anthropomorphized, sometimes comically so. Working in layers, both formally and conceptually, the creatures are portrayed wearing hats, monocles, cuffs, and sometimes Victorian collars – an allusion to the historic habit of conquering classes around the world to attempt tame and civilize that which has been deemed wild. The effect is darkly comical, meant to show how ludicrous the narrow margins of establishment can be.

 The works are also a celebration of the wisdom of nature and all it has taught humanity throughout time. Viewers may note three repeating symbols in the works: a wind-up key, the external force; a bean, adzuki or black-eyed pea, this is a nod to parallel traditions in disparate cultures; a gordian knot, a symbol of defying useless paradigms.

 The illustrations of the vessels and the creatures that inhabit them are inspired by the graphic qualities of national park posters. Taken as a whole, the posters create a polychromatic “book” of sorts, furthering the narrative attached to each object.

 Each image denotes a location and a time: Red Lodge, Montana, Caulfield, Missouri, or Two Harbors, Minnesota. I make note of the wildlife I encounters in my travels, researching the habits and symbolism of flora and fauna along the way, referring  to this practice as nomadic regionalism, a parameter guiding my practice since 2015.

Civilized Wildlings: The Tallgrass Prairie

The objects and the corresponding zine were created in 2023 with support from the Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio, the Iowa Arts Council, and Prairiewoods Franciscan Retreat.