Bridging Past and Present: Hand Building Pottery Workshop with Jennifer M. Stevens
Description
Stevens, who's an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
Through the art of pottery, Jennifer M. Stevens rekindles a cultural history. She works with anthropologists and archaeologists at UW-Milwaukee and other institutions to analyze Indigenous pottery pieces and methods, particularly those of the Oneida-Haudenosaunee tribes. Then, she incorporates those materials and techniques in her own work.
Her process starts with examining shards of ancient pottery. She then determines the ingredients used to make the clay, and what additives were mixed in—like freshwater mussels or granite—and then determines what the vessels were used for, such as cooking. After recreating these designs by hand, she fires her finished clay using a kiln or an outdoor fire pit.
For Stevens, every bit of clay and pottery helps her rediscover a lost history. "Pottery revitalizations give Indigenous people an insight into their ancestors – how they lived hundreds of years ago before European contact. I feel like I'm a conduit for our ancestors to our people today."
Information is a credit to Milwaukee Magazine's April 2, 2024 edition.
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