Description
This specific piece is an excerpt from my project titled “Leaving Behind Prints in the Shadows” In the image we see a local potter who creates his pieces in the comfort of his own home. Each of his pieces is hand-thrown and glazed leaving none of his creations exactly like the other. Today machines and money take over the commerce playing key roles in the production of fast fashion, cheap materials, and mass-produced goods. It all makes one long chain in which huge corporate companies try to earn money without regard to the climate or the conditions in which people work. We as consumers never see behind the scenes into what goes on. Homemade goods and small businesses continue to go out of business as companies like Amazon make cheaper goods. Handmade work may be more expensive and take longer but art is their livelihood. The pieces contain an identity, once received, and quality is assured. In a world of commercial unity, each handmade piece stands out, creating an individual piece of art. As artists, craftsmen, and farmers get overshadowed they lose not only their source of income but the buyers loose connections and personal attachment to what they buy. The eye contact that connects the consumer to the crafter is absent in factory-produced goods. The potter stares directly at the viewer forcing you to make eye contact creating a connection between his story and his works. A gift is less special when no one makes it.
