A Summer Tanager on a Gingko Branch For the Coming Year

in process, ready to go in to the kiln for the bisque firing

Each year I make a piece in honor of one year ending and a new one beginning. Its primary purpose is as a card to send out with wishes for a happy new year, but I also use it as a ritual to contemplate what I’m leaving behind and as well as hopes for what’s ahead.

I choose imagery that offers inspiration appropriate to this particular time. This year it will be a Summer Tanager on a Gingko Tree branch.

I was inspired to include a bird this year based on the words of Jake Swamp, a Mohawk elder, from his Thanksgiving address - birds with their beautiful songs and freedom of flight lift the hearts and spirits of humans as well as to remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. I put the Summer Tanager on a Gingko branch because the Gingko tree symbolizes longevity, adaptability and resilience. These days we seem to need our hearts lifted more than ever and to remember to appreciate life especially as we adapt and develop the resilience necessary to weather the challenges around us!

Because I am well practiced in drawing the Gingko tree from my commission earlier this year (see posts A and B), I bypassed paper and did my drawing right onto the clay before carving and building the forms.

Carving the Gingko leaves and branches:

And then I built the bird with tiny ultra thin torn pieces of clay. The Summer Tanager is such a sweet little bird and I used a lot of internet images to help me create an image of it.

For this piece I wanted to try using color and texture in a different way than I usually do. My idea is to have a somewhat monochromatic carved leaf and branch background with a “built” bird that is more vibrant in color. Honestly I’ll have to wait until its finished to know if it works but that risk is part of the fun.

For the bird feathers I want layers of color so began with an underglaze for the first coat:

Tonight as I write this post it is in the kiln undergoing a very slow firing of 20 hours to dry out and vitrify at 1945 degrees F. The next day I’ll glaze and fire again and I will of course show these remaining steps to you.

Happy Solstice to you and thank you for another year of Steemit!