TITLE:Spirit Beast with Kiln Goddess

• Martie Geiger_Ho何盖氏玛蒂介绍

•   Inspired by myths and surviving primeval rituals about the craft  and processes of pottery making and firing, my shrine-like sculptures and figurative deities are actually modem interpretations of the potter's protective firing guardian, the "Kiln God" Guardians of the potter's fire for centuries in diverse cultures throughout the world, Kiln Gods and Goddesses are fanciful and sometimes grotesque statues that protect the potter's fragile ware from harm during a kiln firing. My work emphasizes the importance of Kiln  Gods, Goddesses, and other ceremonial practices associated with kiln firings and the "kiln lore" of ancient and modem ceramists  around the world. The content of my work expresses the universal  need felt by many ceramic artists for a common understanding and  shared experience into the mysteries and myths enmeshed in the  ceramic process. I have based the style of my sculptures on my own  interpretation of prehistoric female fertility figures and other archetypal imagery. Depending on my intentions about the forms and specific themes of my individual Kiln Gods and Goddesses, I also sometimes illustrate my work with the subject matter and visual imagery of anthropomorphic animal spirits.