Final Work
Feb 2023
15 Percent Pledge - All Together Now
A series of ceramic sculptures commissioned to commemorate the 15 Percent Pledge Grant Winners
Story
The 15 Percent Pledge asked me to create an original object. The organization partners with retailers to guarantee that a representative 15% of store shelve space is dedicated to Black entrepreneurs. The work needed to speak to the organization's mission and vision.
Goal
Object
A series of 5 hand-sculpted trophies, inspired by the shape of Sekere rattles, an instrument made and mastered throughout the global African Diaspora, a fitting symbol of black ingenuity worldwide. The hand-built works were further distinguished by human forms moving in concert around the piece's upper globe, and "incomplete" gold leafing, symbolizing the organization's ongoing work in progress to change the global retail sector.
Outcomes
Final Work
Design
The design process began with loose concepting with graphite hand sketching, further honed by inspiration research into the selected concept, inspired by the Sekere. I completed a simple mockup using Nomad Sculpt on iPad to demonstrate the intended finish, and raised forms of the hand-sculpted figures.
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Fabrication
I fabricated the series of unique works by hand in Black stoneware, using a slab building technique that allowed for the use of a pattern for the relative standardization of the object bases. To create uniqueness for each object in the series, I made the top globe and figures individually by hand, using slab building and coil building techniques. The fired set were glazed in black, and hand finished with a rough gold leaf technique, symbolizing the ongoing work of realizing Black self-determination in our time.
Process
Design
The design process began with loose concepting with graphite hand sketching, further honed by inspiration research into the selected concept, inspired by the Sekere. I completed a simple mockup using Nomad Sculpt on iPad to demonstrate the intended finish, and raised forms of the hand-sculpted figures.
Fabrication
I fabricated the series of unique works by hand in Black stoneware, using a slab building technique that allowed for the use of a pattern for the relative standardization of the object bases. To create uniqueness for each object in the series, I made the top globe and figures individually by hand, using slab building and coil building techniques. The fired set were glazed in black, and hand finished with a rough gold leaf technique, symbolizing the ongoing work of realizing Black self-determination in our time.
