Mixed Media & Ceramic Sculptures and ceramic pottery

The Forgiveness Totem series is a blending of trash art and ceramics. It  is a commentary on packaging and being responsible for my waste. My  intention is to create art to interact with and remember our  inter-dependency with the natural world. These sculptures are born from  my efforts of “zero waste” and creating art from what would otherwise be  landfill. This has been an intimate relationship with the trash I  generate and a process of discerning how I can reduce this impact on the  environment. I have incorporated over two years of my debris into these  sculptures, and I have changed some of my consumption habits because of  facing the dilemmas of this kerfuffle in my lifestyle.   

The creative process included organizing plastic and other waste into  armatures. I wrapped the armatures in chicken wire and then applied  Portland cement to the armatures. I then rolled out slabs of clay and covered the armatures with these slabs. When the clay was leather hard, I cut the clay into the shapes of the tiles. The tiles were individually designed and sculpted. After glazing and firing the tiles  the tiles were thin set on the armature and the mosaic was grouted. 

This video depicts the first stages  of building the armatures.    

Sales from the Forgiveness Totem Series directly fund  activities in harmony with ancient ancestral teachings of interdependency and Sacredness of ALL life.

Forgive me for the ways in which I have been forgetful and disconnected  to myself and the life around me. Forgive me for my over consumption  when you have not received enough to thrive. Forgive me for the waste I  have generated and help me to make better choices in how I nourish  myself and interact with my environment. Please help me to be in harmony  with the natural world and have my hand print bigger than my footprint.  Please guide me in what is mine to do.