This blog first appeared as a section of a post on my patreon. To see the pieces discussed, and the concluding restoration section of the project, sign up here. (No tiered subscriptions, pay what you want.)
lamentation five
ceramic, broken
lamentation five was easily the longest work to create. The subtle white shading on the side of the ceramic is the result of months of sanding.
My original intention was to sand down the jar far enough for the side to have the same rough unglazed texture as the unglazed centre which is exposed along the cracks. I actually prefer how this has turned out, the sanded areas give a third visual texture alongside the glazed jar and exposed cuts.
The piece is linked closely to lamentation three, both drawing on broken pottery as a metaphor for human tragedy. But where three created a hypothetical and generalised form, here there is a specific physical item. Many of the laments have unintentionally created pairs like this; three and five are a generalised and specific broken ceramic, one and six are generalised and personal pieces involving the destruction of a Bible. two and four break this trend and work purely as standalone pieces.
This is the penultimate of six reflections on the lamentation pieces. I’ll be positing the final reflection here next week. If you’d like to read it now, it’s already been made available to my patreons here.