Clay Keeps Tally: a community engaged and site-specific clay hunt! Created and organized by Lourdes Jiménez.
December First Friday, at the Plant Gallery on Gaines Street from 3pm to 10pm as part of the You Are Here: an Exploration, a collaborative exhibition featuring three of FSU art professor Paul Rutkovsky's classes, Art Alleys workshop, Experimental Drawing, and the Drawing 2 class.
Using the Gaines Street and surrounding communities as the backdrop for this project, I handcrafted thirty-one ceramic mugs, all of which are individually coiled and pinched, then embellished with the names of places, facts, opinions, or thoughts that reflect my time here in Tallahassee.
As the natural forces of life push us each day to move forward I based my clay hunt layout on the fibonacci spiral. It originated inside the Plant Gallery and spiraled outward ending at the FSU campus, up near the art department.
This project was conceived with the purpose of informing the public the value of hand crafted objects and the connections and memories they create in our lives.
Being aware of the time and energy put into each of these objects, then realizing they were being given away to complete strangers, motivated participants to go in search of these unique objects. The connection of maker and public, the public connecting with each other, and the connection of the public with the actual object were all purposely embedded to further enrich this experience.
After the objects were found, a sense of completion and fulfillment filled the experience of each participant. It was an absolute delight to interact with the Gaines street and Tallahassee communities that come out to First Friday every month.
There is nothing truer than the selfless gift of time and creativity. Time and experiences shared can never be undone. In this time of giving, make the most of what you can, when you can. Happy Holidays!
Thanks to everyone that came out and participated and special thanks to Amanda French and volunteer Karribean for assisting when they could!