Connecting to Mom Earth via conventional pottery
That is a part of a collection referred to as Ann’s Eye, that includes the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content material creator. You possibly can see extra Ann’s Eye items by clicking right here.
A protracted winter could make you miss the sensation of the earth between your fingers.
That is why CBC contributor Ann Paul discovered peace in a current conventional pottery workshop. Hosted by Nancy Oakley, a conventional potter of Wampanoag and Mi’kmaq descent from Eskasoni First Nation in Cape Breton, Paul stated the expertise linked her with Mom Earth.
“To have the ability to get your arms on a chunk of our Mom, the earth, and be capable to create with what she offers and make one thing stunning, one thing that got here out of your thoughts, is simply wow,” she stated.
WATCH | This conventional pottery artist makes use of clay from her personal yard:
Grasp potter Nancy Oakley from Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia teaches individuals tips on how to make pinch pots
Paul stated the individuals attending the workshop, held via Mawi’ Artwork, a pan-Atlantic artist collective, had been “actually calm” as they talked and made artwork collectively.
Within the spring, Oakley hopes to return and do one other workshop to construct a fireplace and bake the pottery — with out using a kiln.
“You’d heat the pots across the hearth for a couple of hours and finally unfold out your embers, and put the pots inside the center,” she stated.
The observe is a part of conventional pottery. Oakley, who makes use of clay from her personal yard, stated pottery-making is part of Mi’kmaw historical past, and solely stopped showing locally’s information about 500 years in the past.
Oakley, who’s additionally finished beadwork and made baskets, has been an artist so long as she will keep in mind. She began out as a photographer, then studied pottery on the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe.
She additionally thinks of pottery as a strategy to join with Mom Earth. It is the main focus of a whole lot of her work, together with femininity and motherhood, which she stated are all interconnected.
“It’s extremely meditative, as nicely,” she stated.
Ann’s Eye
Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to tales from First Nations communities throughout New Brunswick. Click on right here or on the picture beneath to see extra of her work.
