Raku to you!

Geoff and Bette are hard at work, (or play perhaps) pulling those pots from kiln and putting them in the shredded papers or needles for raku to develop the gorgeous smoked reduced colors.

This little piece was made using some extruded and reassembled pieces, then glazed with store-bought glazes before raku firing.  I want to do more of this technique, which was so fun and simple to do.

I loved the loose folds of this piece, which were a test to see what raku glazes could do...and I liked the resulting iridescence.

I started doing things with negative space a while back, and forgot I'd already started with piercing forms...but here it is!

This little goddess has some different symbols, including holly leaves, and that white geisha look with her long dark robe.  My good friend, Teresa has it in her collection.

Goddesses and women in one book

"Cakes for the Queen of Heaven"

available as a book through this link...178 pages of book, based upon Shirley Rank's work and the UU curriculum that raised many women's consciousnesses to include the goddess in their lives....not to mention started many women's groups as offshoots of the classes.

http://www.scribd.com/full/47687595?access_key=key-j5szeajerj0f7nbgukp

I took this course in the early 1990's in Knoxville's UU church, and then taught it several times in different churches in the southeast...each time women came curious, and went away with great big smiles on their faces.  Of course it poses many more questions than it answers.  And the UU organizational women decided to continue the educational curricula to include the other goddesses of the world, (Asian, African, Mediteranian, American Indigenous, etc) as well as many other consciousness raising activities in a sequel class "Rise Up and Call Her Name."  (I've taken it around 3-4 times also).

I love the material, though sometimes the visuals of various statues, artifacts, and sites have lost their original focus and become somewhat blurred.  (They were originally slides viewed on a filmstrip viewer, and now put onto computer format (powerpoint style).  If they are upgraded, the classes should continue to be held.  And my friend who is a wiccan, says the part of the curriculum covering witchcraft is sadly out of date.  I don't know the particulars of this, but she may be teaching a non-UU class that uses some of these materials with her own updating.  After all, editorship is one of the things women have taken control of in their lives.

Another important note must be made, that the curriculum for a group, held over however many weeks it may take, provides a community building opportunity which is part of the secondary purpose of the class.  Education must be the first...and thus reading the book does help with that, but the group sharing is a value which cannot be overlooked.

I suggest at least using this book as a book club discussion topic.
Whichever way you might absorb some of this information, please take the time to look at the book that's now available to download, if you haven't before.

Çatalhöyük, (now in Turkey)

Was there really a time when women were in charge of civilization?  Çatalhöyük may have been one of those times, (around 6000 years ago) or as Sid Reger taught in a recent workshop, all of the Neolithic may have been, as Marija Gimbutus proposed!  http://www.goddessmandala.com/links.html



Catal Huyuk, 6000 BCE, copy



THE FERTILITY GODDESS, CATAL HUYUK, TURKEY, 6000 BPE

"This fertility figurine, like the Dolni Vestonice Venus, (see previous post on Neolithic Women Sculptors) was sculpted in earthenware clay and It displays the large breasts, hips and thighs that represent fertility. This ubiquitous sculpture depicted the ancient and primitive worlds’ feminine attributes of fertility and the survival of the species. .... It should be noted that Catal Huyuk developed into one of the largest ceramic centers in the Mid East, making the availability of clay and firing equipment easily obtainable. The importance of ritualistic ceremonies was still a part of the life cycle of this very stable agrarian society.

Jayne Shatz (who states that all neolithic pottery and sculpture was formed by women artists) also says, 'the potter’s wheel was invented around 6000 BPE, and within a thousand years, it was widely used. By the conclusion of the Neolithic period, 1500-1000 BPE, most of the ceramic work evolved into businesses, overseen by men.



Goddess seated with 2 lions



another source (Wikepedia, wherever it may have obtained its information) says...
"Vivid murals and figurines are found throughout the settlement, on interior and exterior walls. Distinctive clay figurines of women, notably the Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük (illustration, right, from Museum), have been found in the upper levels of the site. Although no identifiable temples have been found, the graves, murals, and figurines suggest that the people of Çatalhöyük had a religion which was rich in symbols. Rooms with concentrations of these items may have been shrines or public meeting areas.








What Wikepedia neglects to mention, is that this small figure was found in a grain bin.  This suggests it had been hidden, perhaps to keep it safe.  From what, I wonder...



EVE (Equal Visibility Everywhere) has a great picture of the layout of Catalhoyuk here...(as well as some great book suggestions for Women's History Month)
http://equalvisibilityeverywhere.org/blog/womens-history-month-introduction/

Enjoy Women's History Month.  Let me know what you've learned elsewhere by sending me a comment!  Of course you already have this link, don't you?
http://www.nwhp.org/
The National Women's History Project.

Art is Fabulous, women artists!

Maureen Joyce sculpture, 2010



Dervish Woman by Barbara Rogers, 2010






Art is fabulous; one of the most rewarding endeavors a human being can pursue. But (and this is huge), you burn with it. Art consumes the artist deliciously, but it is a harsh discipline in terms of time and concentration. To create it spectacularly a person needs to eat, sleep and breathe art - which means a lot of other things must be neglected (temporarily or totally) by default.


 A female artist can concentrate on art or take care of other people, but it's nearly impossible to do both at the same time. Please trust me here, and never again wonder why Grandma Moses came so late to art.





So how can we rectify this?
We can't do anything about the past. My advice to you, today, is:

• Create art.
• Support women artists. Women who are alive and struggling, not the long-gone ones we hold up as examples.
• Help each other. Strength in numbers, Ladies.
• Make the right choices for you. If you burn to create art, it's OK not to raise a family. If you want to raise a family and make art, marry wisely, learn how to be really patient and surround yourselves with like-minded friends who'll co-op with you occasionally.

Source:
Where Are All the Famous Women Artists? An Open Letter to Younger Sisters

By Shelley Esaak, for About.com

FB problems and Black Madonas

In case you also have not been hearing from some of your FB friends, who might have be de-selected without your knowledge!  FaceBook selects who you get to hear from, on your own pages.  I changed my setting as suggested in this article.


http://www.disruptiveconversations.com/2011/02/how-facebook-now-removes-friends-and-pages-from-your-newsfeed-and-how-to-fix-it.html#comment-6a00d8341bfc6e53ef014e5f425516970c


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I found a lovely blog which I'll start following,

http://thequeenofheaven.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/black-is-beautiful-a-black-madonna-gallery/#comments

which is where I got Black Madona information and pictures throughout Europe...thanks Carisa.  The pictures are wonderful!  Mary speaks to many of us as a goddess.

The Virgin of Guadaupe is my favorite, perhaps because the symbolism includes some of the Indigenous Peoples symbols.  (see Wikepedia for details)

I love the internet way of sharing information.  Many many goddess postings in all kinds of places.

And pottery too!  I'll try to get back to that soon.  But these blogs tend to be all about who we are...totally.  At least the ones I enjoy are.  Thanks everyone for being ...er, divine!