Nancy Wood Pink

Ribbon Pitcher Nancy Wood Pink High-Fire Stoneware with Red Oxide Stain 11.5" x 9" $300

One exercise I delight in as an artist is the introduction of risk and craziness into traditional vessel forms. “Ribbon Pitcher” is a functional pitcher, but no one in his or her right mind would use it as such! I started with a smooth hourglass vessel and then “exploded” it into an organized chaos of ribbon forms. I thought the pitcher had a volcano-like look, so I used red oxide instead of glaze to bring out that hot, earthy quality.

Taking It All In Nancy Wood Pink Glazed High-Fire Stoneware 15" x 5" $300

Honorable Mention

“Taking It All In” began as a simple straight-sided vase with many symmetrical and identical spouts, but it quickly warped, twisted and deformed its way into a voracious organic form resembling driftwood or even a detached stomach with multiple orifices gasping to be filled. In art as in life, what we plan isn’t always what we end up with. Fortunately, sometimes the end result is better than our intention.

Triniunity Nancy Wood Pink Unglazed High-Fire Stoneware 15.5" x 7" $500

One of the dominant concerns of American politics in 2020 has been the historical relationship among our three branches of government and how that relationship may look going forward. Although “Triniunity” was not created with that dynamic in mind, it does embody similar themes: the stability of the tripod, the valuing of individual identity/authority, and the need to subordinate individual power in order to create the power of unity and stability.