Garden of Eden

A ceramics and Ikebana exploration

installed in the CAPA Lens, a building that serves as a quiet space for contemplation. It does not entirely feel like a religious space but it is the closest you can find on campus. I wanted to create something that felt spiritual to view, which started with the making of vessels based on the Judaica that I grew up with. Initially I wanted to try and make objects that were overtly tied to my Judaism but as I began to work the project changed and I thought more about the intersection of religion and nature for me, which started with the Garden of Eden from the book of Genesis. Eventually I made a more sculptural piece directly inspired by the stories I had heard about the Garden of Eden from Hebrew School and my high school religion classes. The biblical influence was not related to God but the idea of sacred spaces and finding a personal spiritual connection with nature.

I also thought more about flowers (both alive and dead) and the idea of the original sin (eating from the tree of knowledge). I used a combination of fresh store bought flowers and flowers I had been collecting throughout the term that had dried. I needed to consider the way I glazed my vessels and how they would work in conjunction with the flowers I had chosen, which was one of the harder things for me as I am not someone for whom moderation and a refined sensibility comes naturally to. The flowers I worked with did not have overt religious connotations but I wanted them to compliment the vessels they were in and help turn the Lens into a space suited for spiritual contemplation, something I think the natural world is fundamental for.

With this specific project, Garden of Eden, I wanted to explore this relationship in the context of ceramic vessels, specifically vases, and how I could meld something that would be considered “profane” into something “sacred”, while also challenging the inherent distinction between the two. Nature is mundane in a lot of ways but it is also something so deeply rooted in spirituality to me and something I consider wholly sacred.

A lot of the art I make is “over the top” in many ways, which feels contrary to what Ikebana is, and so I attempted to blend my art style with the theme of the class. This meant reminding myself when to stop and learning how to be better about creating moderation in the things I do.