RELIQUARIES

When I remember being small, in the forest, the first thing that comes to mind is the feeling of pine sap on my fingers. I know it’s sticky and is going to take three days to wash off, but I can’t help myself. I always pick up pine cones, needing to feel the prickle of the scales and admire the spiral that embellishes the bottom. The sense of touch is prominent in all my early forest memories. I can feel my feet dragging through the sea of pine straw in the thicket I used to play in with my brothers. We would make a collection of all the relics we found and put them on a shelf in our fort. The forest, my encyclopedia of texture, has held my attention since.

I made these pieces for a show at the Gadsden Museum of Art in my hometown of Gadsden Alabama. They were made with earthenware clay and porcelain.