raku fired ceramic jar by Steve Miller

fired with locally grown wheat fro the 2024 harvest

dimensions: 7.5” w x 9” h x 3” opening

artist statement - Please go for a run with me past Mill Creek into the hills surround Bennington Lake. We can also head the other direction out of town. Our landscape is proliferated by the lines in the earth created by farming. These hard lines create shapes that are fields that are farmed traditionally by wheat and onion. Breathe the air and see the color and how it changes across seasons. This morning I was noticing a rather gold color from a harvested field. These are inspirations for making these jars and vase forms.

I’m not only inspired by our local landscapes of wheat fields, but also calligraphic hard line abstractions in modern art and how the two relate. I see these landscapes as I run in the morning, and look down from planes as I come and go from Walla Walla. I see it in nature and see these golden broken forms and rich colors that feel like some type of topography of what once was and what is now. These new works are just a reflection of this world.

I also like the idea that famers use almanacs and lunar cycles as a schedule. This is noted in the form of my work being highly influenced by moon jars which reference the moon in their shape and name. I like to think it is an ideal canvas for this work. I like to think this work is really a small reflection on the place I live.