Primordial is a stoneware pinch piece made on the first day of Ceramics I, Fall 2016. We were shown various pinch techniques and instructed to use them to play with the clay and make a vessel. It is a little larger than a cup, yet smaller than a bowl, with flattened, vertical handles on all four of its sides, finished with an underglaze made by a fellow classmate, and a clear glaze which covers all areas of the vessel except for the handles. This allows the user to feel the rough, raw clay – giving a tactile connection with the vessel as it is used. Primordial’s unique handle design forces the user to figure out the best way to use it – does one use the handles protruding from the lip? Do they sip from the corner? Do they put a drink or a food dish within it? The ambiguity of Primordial causes the user to take a moment and acknowledge the vessel from which they are eating or drinking. It is my hope that this pause will allow room for self-reflection and real engagement with the piece.
Primordial’s cylindrical base, yet square lip and flattened sides was achieved by initially constructing a cylindrical piece as it is built up, expanding the lip and pushing on the sides with the palm. The handles protruding from the lip on all four sides are not entirely blended to the base, causing fissures and crevices to become visible along the seam. The lip itself and inner walls remain unsmoothed and uneven – showing the creator’s impressions left by the pinching process.
With Primordial, I intended to infuse a Japanese Wabi aesthetic – reflected in the unsmoothed surface, imbalanced lip, and rough features – with a primitive feel and theological message. Its cracks, flowing glaze, and rugged look give the impression that primordial could have been taken from the earth itself – reflective of the way in which God pulled humanity from the earth and breathed life into it. These features also reflect our own brokenness and rugged disposition as we move through this fallen world. Each crack, bump, or dent represent the cracks, bumps and dents life leaves as we navigate through it. It is precisely these cracks, bumps, and dents that give us our beauty and character, just as they give primordial its own beauty and character. Furthermore, Primordial can still be used – despite its craggy appearance – just as God can still use our lives despite our own brokenness. Thus, when one uses primordial, a form of redemption takes place – a redemption that, in some capacities, reflects the redemption God offers us – for the desire to use Primordial derives from an outpouring of love. It is a difficult vessel to use, and not particularly desirable, therefore only those who have an affinity for it would pick it up for use. It is taking a piece that by many standards shouldn’t be used and using it because of our connection to it. Similarly, we too are difficult beings to interact with. We constantly desire self-preservation, independence, and comfort. In our pursuit for these desires, we are led to neglect our creator. Yet despite our negligence, our creator still loves us and desires to be in relationship with us. He has every right to leave us to our own destruction, yet instead he has an unending love for us – a love so great that He’s willing to enter into our limited, embodied existence only to be rejected by the very vessels that He created and crucified by the ones who should have been the ones to love Him the most. Yet through enduring all this and defeating the death put upon Him through His resurrection, He redeems us and establishes an intimate relationship with us – a relationship that allows us to be used despite our battered disposition.
Primordial is the first of many explorations between the intersection of the Japanese Wabi aesthetic and the Christian theological tradition. It is through this exploration that I hope to critique the western concepts of beauty, function, usefulness, and desirability that permeate western thought – including in matters of the theological. It is my hope that we may continue to allow art to expand our perspectives and thought procecies as it encourages self reflection and refinement.
