RECIPROCITY
Mestizaje Germination
Jaymie Hernandez de la Torre
“Mid-fire Clay” or "Mid-fire Stoneware"
Jaymie Hernandez de la Torre
“Mid-fire Clay” or "Mid-fire Stoneware"
All the pieces in this work were hand-built from slabs of clay. The marbling effect is created by wedging different clay bodies together. The seeds were created by many hands each working with a small ball of clay.
A new form emerges from the supporting remains of an old ancestral tree. Earth colored patterns swirl together across this form which is reminiscent of many different bodies. Its growth symbolizes the creation of something new, a blended identity, made possible by the shedding of single colored layers, singular identities. It sprouts from the knowing that what defines us is no longer what separates us but what connects us. Numerous seeds of belonging and interdependence are scattered around its base.
This sculpture was made with the help of Lake County residents from all ages and walks of life. Jaymie says "I wanted as many people as possible to make a seed and think about planting themselves in reciprocity with the people and land that surrounds them. It’s a complex piece but I would love for viewers to feel a sense of hopefulness and connection. I hope they can feel all the layers of meaning that are present and add their own to it as they interact with it and explore it."
Seeds - newness in so many ways
Clay - which is the earth, the material we and everything around us is made from
The human form - what holds our being and is the echo of our soul
Skin - the outer layer by which we are so often judged
A new form emerges from the supporting remains of an old ancestral tree. Earth colored patterns swirl together across this form which is reminiscent of many different bodies. Its growth symbolizes the creation of something new, a blended identity, made possible by the shedding of single colored layers, singular identities. It sprouts from the knowing that what defines us is no longer what separates us but what connects us. Numerous seeds of belonging and interdependence are scattered around its base.
This sculpture was made with the help of Lake County residents from all ages and walks of life. Jaymie says "I wanted as many people as possible to make a seed and think about planting themselves in reciprocity with the people and land that surrounds them. It’s a complex piece but I would love for viewers to feel a sense of hopefulness and connection. I hope they can feel all the layers of meaning that are present and add their own to it as they interact with it and explore it."
Seeds - newness in so many ways
Clay - which is the earth, the material we and everything around us is made from
The human form - what holds our being and is the echo of our soul
Skin - the outer layer by which we are so often judged
Jaymie Hernandez de la Torre is a three-dimensional artist and educator. She has her BSW in Social Work and BFA in Fine Art. Her work combines her passion of self-awareness and healing with her love for texture and the human form.
Working primarily with clay and found objects, she creates pieces that exhibit conceptual depth. Her work has been shown in galleries in Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties. Since 2019 she has been teaching ceramics and sculpture as a faculty member of the Visual Arts Department at Pacific Union College in Angwin, CA. She has also been part of the teaching team at WildernessFusion, an earth and body-based healing school, since 2016. |