Offering

9″x9″x2.5″

Made with Amador clay and fired at cone10 with a slow dip of Reitz Green glaze, this shallow bowl is an artifact worthy of display on a pedestal or mantle. The shallow bowl is raised off the display surface by a narrow base, making it easy to cup two hands under to lift and hold the bowl. The shape and size, combined with the archeological aesthetic, marries form with content in the title “Offering,” as it reminds the Artist of her childhood church days when a shallow bowl was passed to devotees to collect cash as an offering to God. The amount of money given was taught to be proportional to the blessings the giver would receive in return, and the green color of the bowl symbolizes the desire for greater monetary wealth that many parishioners hoped to receive in return for their gifts to God. As a young child, the Artist pondered this practice, juxtaposed with the scripture that said money is the root of all evil, and wondered at the seeming contradictions.

This piece is oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe, but is not food safe due to the porous texture created by the bubbling of the glaze. This bowl is made intentionally for decorative use, as the greed for money can create an unhealthy fixation and cause a person to compromise their morals. This piece also includes 6 small emblems with the path of life motif, marking the number 6 as the “number of man” and the carnal nature, per biblical references, and the path that all humans walk to navigate our relationship with money and morality.