In his speech at the march on Washington in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

This quote really resonated with me as we witness civil unrest throughout the United States this past summer. the question I asked myself was, “How can what i do with functional ceramics help the people of this country heal?”

Sitting around a table sand sharing a meal and a conversation offers an intimate opportunity for peole of different ethnic, geographic and/or socio-economic background to create a shared experience.

Shared experiences create community. Passing a bowl or a platter and sharing the food that was brought together and prepared for a community covers that piece with the memory of laughter, tough love, or even tears that are associated with the gather.

The conversations we share while passing the potatoes takes on a different tone, encouraging genuine communication. Bringing people together while breaking bread can create a space for the difficult conversations we so often avoid, yet need to engage in.

It is these pieces that I sought to create when I began this series. Pieces that are design for a variety of traditional ethnic foods, facilitating the flavors of culture.

These items may look like simple place settings, but the possibility they hold to embody the relationships, experiences and community who use them is limitless. While I believe this is an idea that can make an impact, I know this is not the solution to all of our problems, but we need to start somewhere.

I Inspire: Teaching the Next Generation

Concordia University Wisconsin Art Gallery

November 2020 - January 2020