Mended

Mended

Inspired by the plight of rhinos all over the globe and constructed in heavy clay slabs under a loose newspaper armature. The roughly cut, dense slabs lend themselves well to the description of the monumental quality of even the smallest rhino in Sumatra, who are critically endangered due to palm oil production and loss of habitat. Originally the horn was made in clay. Ceremoniously, I cut the horn off after firing the head and “mended” it with an industrial material to make a point. The woven stainless filter I found on the streets of Philadelphia always felt like a rhino horn waiting to happen. I’d forgotten about it until I began forming this head and knew immediately, that gorgeous stainless form had the perfect home. This is a unique construction colored in an ink I made from fallen black walnuts that I soaked for over a year. The horn is joined together at the top with pipe putty and colored with gold leaf paint and backed by an industrial “halo” made from an antique belt system fragment I found decades ago in the basement of an old factory.

W 18″
D 12″
H 17″

Unique Ceramic Construction: $3000