This piece is about life. I was so excited by this new pattern bar piece after it was fired, before final fire polishing. Sadly, in the fire polishing, it cracked in half as if it were struck by lightning. I should have used a slower fire polish firing schedule because this was a little thicker than the usual two layer piece. We can all relate to the disappointment and frustration when things don't work out so well, especially with all we are dealing with during the coronavirus stay at home times and the importance of Black Lives Matter.
What do we do when things crack apart? I remembered the Japanese practice of Wabi-sabi - a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection in traditional Japanese aesthetics. A Japanese artist would fill a pottery crack with gold to honor the imperfection that makes things even more beautiful. I fired the two pieces together, filling the space in between with matching powder frit. The piece healed, maintaining its basic pattern of an eight-pointed star, inspired by my recent trip to India. The eight pointed star has significance in many religious traditions, most notably for redemption, regeneration, and baptism. This "healed piece" is a great metaphor for us all. When we are going through a dark passageway in a primordially scary way, there is always a way through to new beginnings through the cracks. We will find our way and come out the other side. I call this piece, "Healing Pathways".
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