Activating the Fire element – my ceramic residency in Georgia

Upon arriving in the Tusheti plains in the high Caucasus mountains of Georgia for my second ceramic residency as part of my development as a ceramic artist, I was still unclear of what my focus would be beyond that of the element of Fire. I was hoping the element would help with illumination and activation when I arrived in the new landscape, as it had done on my last residency in Latvia.

The last few months have been incredibly hard, losing a parent is like nothing one can ever prepare for, going through any key bereavement has evaded me thus far, I have navigated this time with many mixed emotions, deep grief and loss, and an inability to connect and articulate with many if not most of those around me, and I arrived in the absolutely beautiful scenery of Tusheti incredibly tired and frankly not wanting to do or explore anything.

The sun beckoned me out, and I went to visit a nearby pine forest by the visitor centre and just sat and stared at the vista. I eventually turned my focus outward and started noticing all the pine cones scattered around me and was reminded that fire stimulates pine seeds in the ground to germinate, the trigger being direct stimulation by heat. This is most common in pines that have thick, hard seed coats that prevent germination by keeping oxygen and water away from the seed inside. As making outdoor fires is forbidden in this part of the mountain range and national park, I created a simple mandala in ode to fire, with the hope and knowledge that fire can be a force of activation like it is for pine cones, the prompt for the growing process to start, the prompt for new life to begin again.

Here is to the start of creative activation.