Hannah Jacks, Past Meets the Present, and Virginia A. Stroud, Where the Flowers Grow

Hannah Jacks (Cherokee Nation)
Past Meets the Present
Pit-fired Ceramics

I had the opportunity to visit the Cherokee Nation Research Center where I was shown Cherokee vessels from their archives. They allowed me to take pictures and ask questions about the vessels and how they were created. Through the knowledge and images that I gained from that experience I was able to select what vessel forms I wanted to replicate.
I chose a vessel that would have been used for storing grain and a vessel that would have been used for storing liquid. I created the designs on the vessels based off of what would have been stored in them. The vessel that would have stored grain (red clay vessel) I slipped and scored knobs around the top. The vessel that would have stored liquid (white clay vessel) I slipped and scored two coils to symbolize water.
The inspiration for these two vessels was to be able to look back on how my ancestors would have created these vessels and replicate that as much as possible. I also wanted to combine present day design with that of past forms to represent my past lineage with my present day life.

Virginia A. Stroud (Cherokee)
Where the Flowers Grow
Print of Painting; 1991; Center of Southwest Studies Collections 1999:08009:I