Urn (Envelope)
Abbey Peters
Ceramic
Art Dimensions: 10" x 10" x 11.5"
Exhibition - Iowa Clay Conference | River 2 River
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Artist Statement
The work resides in the inherited secrets buried within a home - whispers of stories and old wives' tales passed down from previous generations to protect those forthcoming. Women have historically been placed in caretaking and place-making roles, and as a result, have learned the secret favors of these domains. This work investigates the innate and learned knowledge used to survive and protect one another. The ceramic objects offer safe storage; the floral patterns protecting the vessels and their contents by harnessing the usual dismissal of femininity – a camouflage hiding the inherited secrets in plain sight. By activating secrecy as a tool for survival through the physical act of burying, covering, and hiding, the vessels become time capsules of patriarchal resistance for future generations.
Artist Biography
Abbey Peters lives in Iowa City, Iowa and works with ceramics, beeswax, plants, and other collected materials. She received her MFA in Ceramics at the University of Iowa and BFA in Studio Art from the University of Arkansas. She has received numerous research grants to study beekeeping, Victorian herbal remedies and abortifacients, and wallpaper preservation throughout London, UK. She has worked at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Lillstreet Art Center, and completed residencies internationally at laRex l’Atelier in St. Raphael, France, as well as the inaugural CIRCA Exchange in Boulder, Colorado. In her ceramic work, she references domestic interiors, decorative arts, and gardens to explore ideas of matrilineal knowledge and secret-keeping as a tool for survival.
*photo courtesy of artist
