Open-pit mines have no mercy for our environment; they clear-cut forests and displace ecosystems, leach toxic metals into nearby water sources, and carve massive, anthropogenic scars into earth’s surface. The ceramics industry is an avid consumer, and frequent squanderer, of raw materials extracted from these mines. In an effort to challenge the sustainability of the global mining industry, I create my own ceramic glazes and clays from found and recycled materials like rocks, wild clays, plant ashes, glass shards, and ceramic glaze waste. Wounded Ground utilizes these glazes by depicting open-pit mines that supply materials for the ceramics industry, as well as the environmental and social issues that propagate from them.
As an artist working primarily with found, raw materials, I strive to reach a point of complete self-reliance with my material gathering and processing. My work would not be possible without the hours spent hiking trails and scanning the ground, collecting rocks and digging clay samples; the time spent crushing rocks, sifting, milling, and refining powders, and mixing thoughtfully-crafted glaze recipes, each backed by chemistry. This process is truly a labor of love, but it’s a necessary endeavor for the health of the earth.
