Creating ceramic totems for Fire and Courage

When kicking off this next ceramic residency focusing on the element of Fire in the mountains of Georgia I knew I wanted to work with the masculine principal, the Warrior archetype symbolising energy, power, activation, passion and action.

I knew I wanted to work with aspects of my father who had recently passed away 4 months ago, to take forward and represent him somehow in my work, and honouring his resilience, courage and strength. What developed was the idea of creating a series of objects that would stack up into to a Fire totem and a Fire altar, with the upward movement countering my earlier work with the feminine principal of Water during my Latvian residency, which was more horizontal, soft and fluid in its execution.

Arriving at Omalo to a minimally stocked studio was in itself challenging at first. I was more accustomed to having access to more tools and better quality clay but quickly incorporated a more rough aesthetic which lended itself to the idea of the Warrior, creating deep gashes and evidence of war wounds and battles in each piece. An act of surrendering my usual perfectionism for a more rough and unpolished aesthetic was also a struggle.

Georgia’s history also lended itself to this exploration, speaking to various locals from taxi drivers to tour guides, freedom-loving Georgian people are incredibly proud of their heritage, having forged a long history amidst continual clashes with powerful neighbouring empires, and have miraculously managed to maintain a unique and rich culture, distinct language and national sovereignty. Many battles have been fought on this land. So the work in honour of Warrior, the Masculine and Fire began.