7.5 x 4 x 2.75" clay pot sculpture. Six vellum and waxed rice paper folded books. Text digitally printed. A plant-like ceramic base allows for arranging 3 pairs of flower-plus-pod books. The flower cites the source of the quotation found on the corresponding pod. All the sources are from 1859 and have to do with Kansas and migration to that state. Amanda Small: "In my most recent series of ceramic installations I am interested in mimicking cyclical processes of change, evolution, growth, and dispersal. References to nature and biology, plant life, and seeds are important to me as symbolic relationships between 'nurturer and nurturee', and 'giver and taker.' These relationships are natural, necessary, and purposeful, yet they involve the viewer in questioning differences between what is benign and symbiotic and what is darker and parasitic…. "I am fascinated by the insides of things found in the natural world. There is an awe-inspiring excitement in unfurling a closed pod or seed to reveal the secret within. Pods are often perfectly proportioned and charmed with all the necessary implements to carry out full cycles of growth, death, dispersal, and ultimately, rebirth. Magnified views of pollen, spores, and disseminating seeds become whorls of undulating landscapes. These nutrient-rich givers seem overlooked as we anticipate the new. However, it is the crusty, weathered outside that protects and vitalizes the growth within. As the receiver blossoms, scattering itself to continue the cycle, the giver often depletes itself, having fulfilled its destiny to envelop and nurture. "Within my work, color and texture combine to mimic the rich, varied textures of things once invisible, now magnified. Inner and exterior forms are contrasted, creating a visual experience providing information about new and old. The forms are curved and bulbous, encasing layers to relay information about time and movement. Relationships between the natural forms imply giving and taking, nurturing and being nurtured...." |
