By Sherri Baierl
Medium: Mixed (Acrylic, silver leaf, hardware)
Notes: Shown at the Art Garage, Shown at Gallery Night 2009
I had this great big thumbprint from magazine ad and I just liked it, there are all kinds of interesting things about that. Some might think that is a little strange but I can just get captivated by pattern and things that are the wrong size or wrong medium.
For instance, I saw this giant rubber stamp in Washington DC’s sculpture garden when I was a kid. It was probably 15 feet tall and made out of iron and that has stayed with me for all these years.
There is also a giant kitchen table and chair at the Tate in London but I won’t go into that here. But to go further here this came out of the idea of the thumbprint of the potter.
I had a professor tell me that some potters will intentionally remove wet clay from the wheel and leave fingerprints because the imperfection is also a reminder that someone made it and it didn’t just appear. The imperfection of the mark of the maker therefore makes it more real and more perfect than if it had no blemishes at all. It is as though beauty is more beautiful when it is paired with ugliness.
I’ve noticed this strange anomaly for years: There are types of beauty that capture my attention and often they are next to something ugly which is why it becomes obvious they are beautiful. Like rainbows against a gray sky, sunlight on rusty boxcars, Band-Aids on children something about it moves your heart in a way unlike something with no flaws.
We have the mark of the maker in us. Those who can embrace the beauty of being marked paired with our imperfection, those of us who can admit it and move forward with peace and understanding are truly beautiful.
