The Final Frontier

Vía Láctea

Vía Láctea no.1
2016 wheel-thrown ceramic, double glazed, gilded
14 x 10.5cm , unique piece
The Final Frontier
Not for sale

Vía Láctea no.2
2016 wheel-thrown ceramic, double glazed, gilded
19.5 x 17cm, unique piece
The Final Frontier
Not for sale

Vía Láctea no.3
2016 wheel-thrown ceramic, double glazed, gilded
27 x 6cm, unique piece
The Final Frontier
Not for sale

Los Primeros Cincos

Maps of all kinds have always fascinated me. The stars were used as the first navigational maps to find direction. It’s so easy to forget them in these modern times of city lights and digital maps on phones. Living in cities makes me long to see them even more, and when I do their numbers always astound me.

Nowadays sailors and travelers no longer use the stars to reach destinations. The most recent significant use of them was by people who could neither read or write, and at a time in our history that is not so long ago. During the time of the Underground Railroad in the United States, escaped slaves were told to look for the Big Dipper in the night sky. The front of the cup are two stars which point to Polaris, the North Star, and thus to freedom.
Ursa Major isn’t technically a constellation. It’s an asterism which means it’s part of a constellation. This particular cup is a companion to the cup ‘True North’ which also depicts an asterism, Ursa Minor or better known as the Little Dipper, and are both parts of the same constellation. These cups were made to serve before-bedtime tea, or as a water cup to take to bed and have sit on the nightstand to wet parched throats.

This is one of five in a small series on five constellations that are easy to learn and recognize. In this series I highlight their meanings and symbolism that were/are significant in finding our way in navigating this life. Also to point out that in spite of all our great technological advancements, the stars continue to have relevancy in many ways practical and metaphorical.

TO FREEDOM
2021 wheel-thrown ceramic, hand-painted oxides with matte glaze, crackled and gilded
9 x 10cm, unique piece
Los Primeros Cincos: Ursa Major
[SOLD]
Here we have the Ursa Minor which contains Polaris, the North Star. It is the last star marking the end of the handle and known as True North. But Polaris wasn’t always true north in the past, nor will it be in the future. Due to the changing tilt in the Earth’s axis, a different star once marked true north, just as another eventually will. So too can we as human beings change our direction, focus, priorities and that it’s natural for it to happen. Embrace it.

If you consider someone as your true North, you think of them as something stable that will never let you down. You trust them completely and, as Answers – The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life’s Questions puts it, they are sort of a “reality check” for you at any time. You look up to them at all times. I think that someone can also be yourself, your own intuition, your trust and respect of your own abilities, and one’s own will and control to keep oneself in check and grounded in reality.
Let’s take a closer look at the water cup True North and some of its details. I love the play of light across the gold stars. And I must admit I’ve been a bit obsessed with blue white gold on my pieces for the past five years. I have an entire series of yet-to-be-shown sculpture that is based on that color scheme.

This is one of five in a small series on five constellations that are easy to learn and recognize. In this series I highlight their meanings and symbolism that were/are significant in finding our way in navigating this life.

TRUE NORTH
2021 wheel-thrown ceramic, hand-painted oxides with matte glaze, crackled and gilded
8.5 x 10.5cm, unique piece
Los Primeros Cincos: Ursa Minor
[SOLD]
Deity of the dead and ruler of the Underworld, Osiris was the first living person to die. Ancient Egyptians called the constellation Osiris, god of the afterlife, who majestically marched across the sky each year reminding everyone below of their final destination. He was not an omniscient figure of death, but a steadfast reminder to be grateful for each passing day, month, year, moment of your life.

The god Osiris was closely associated with the figure of the constellation Orion in the heavens. Osiris is a slain god, who is murdered by his brother Set and enclosed in a coffin, which is sent down the river Nile and eventually into the sea, where the waves eventually carried the chest to the land of Byblos or Byblus (Gebal) in ancient Phoenicia along the Levant. There, a tree grew up around the coffin containing the slain god, which was later cut down and used to make a pillar holding up the roof of the palace of the king and queen of that land.

This cup and the others in the series were made to serve before-bedtime tea, or as a water cup to have sit on the nightstand to wet parched throats if the need arises and wakes you from your sleep.
Video too because this piece was impossible to photograph well. Many attempts with different backdrops and lighting were tried but to no avail. The constellation wraps around the piece and are hidden with the angle curvatures of the cup’s body. You will see it in the photo shared. As I tried all these different ways, I imagined how Isis felt when gathering the pieces of her husband’s slain body.

GRATEFUL
2021 wheel-thrown ceramic, hand-painted oxides with matte glaze, crackled and gilded
10 x 10.5cm, pieza única
Los Primeros Cincos: Osiris (Orion)
[SOLD]

About Exposición Pleno Verano y Open Studio
Currently, some people consider Leo to be the most important fire sign of the Zodiac. From Leo comes solar fire, the fire we associate with soul consciousness, the fire of the higher mind. The Sun is the ruler of Leo both exoterically, esoterically and hierarchically. The essence of Leo is individuality and true self-consciousness.

One must know oneself through true self-awareness.

Once we realize that we are not a person but an indestructible conscious entity, we consciously realize and become one with all of humanity. The prominent concept of Leo is of the self-conscious person in relation to their environment or the development of sensitive response to surrounding impacts by the one who is at the center of their perceived universe. Confidence, strength, and inner peace… Leo and its influences can be summed up two words: know thyself.
This cup and the others in the series were made to serve before-bedtime tea, or as a water cup to have sit on the nightstand to wet parched throats if the need arises and wakes you from your sleep.

KNOW THYSELF
2021 wheel-thrown ceramic, hand-painted oxides with matte glaze, crackled and gilded
8.5 x 9.5cm, unique piece
Los Primeros Cincos: Leo
[SOLD]
The Southern Cross, or Crux, is an asterism, belonging to two other constellations. With the two pointers it can be used as a navigational tool to find the South Pole. There are five stars that make up the Crux but only four are depicted here.

Crux carries significance across many southern countries and civilizations. Egyptians saw it as the place where Horus was crucified, marking the passage of winter. Aborigines and Maori saw it as animist spirits that are integral in their ancestral beliefs. It was found depicted on a stone engraving in Machu Picchu. The Incas knew it as “Chakana,” meaning “stair,” and it played an important part in Incan mysticism, symbolizing the three tiers of the world: the heavens, the world of the living, and the underworld.

Crux was visible in the northern hemisphere about 5K years ago. It was last visible on the horizon in Jerusalem around the time that Christ was crucified. As a result of precession, Crux eventually sank below the horizon for most in the north.
Crux has been a symbol of resistance in modern times. Unfortunately it’s also been subverted, like the OK hand symbol and swastika, being taken up by White Supremacists subverting the ancient spiritual meanings and origins. But with this exhibition, I began sharing pieces in which the purpose is to decolonize particular symbolism and take them back, and by doing it in a way that speaks of this new age of wisdom… Calmly, firmly, and with kindness.

This piece is the “feminine” counterbalance to the “masculine” True North.

KINDNESS
2021 wheel-thrown ceramic, hand-painted oxides with matte glaze, crackled and gilded
8.5 x 8.5cm, pieza única
Los Primeros Cincos: Crux
[SOLD]
The First Five: kindness, know thyself, grateful, true north, to freedom

These are water cups or for before-bedtime tea. Metaphorically they are about what I see as the first five and base-essential elements on the path to self-enlightenment. I think we must be gentle with ourselves and others within boundaries, discover the depth and beauty of who we are, appreciate life and gifts each day has to offer, find our purpose with resolve and move confidently in that direction, be a guide/mentor/inspiration to ourselves and others.

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