“Midwestern States” Essay Sample

The art piece selected for discussion is called “Midwestern States” by artist Elizabeth Ayers. It is a glazed ceramic piece of pottery that is clearly a jug that would be used for pouring drinks. The piece appears to be from 1900, yet looks like something that could be used in the 21st century. The ceramic jug is a freestanding piece that is somewhat skinny with a thin handle and a smooth finish overall. The glaze brings forth the shiny surface of the piece as it sits up against the white surface. One could assume that the image of the owl sitting on some time of pine tree is reminiscent of the Midwestern states, which is reflected in the title of the work. I selected this particular piece to write about because of the beauty of this pottery that captured my attention due to its sober colors, as well as the shadows that the piece produces as one walks around the various angles of the work.
The shape of the smooth ceramic pottery has a timeless appeal to its aesthetics. The handle is even made to where one thinks of a little bird sitting on the side, with its slightly pointed beak. The entire scene depicted on the jug brings with it a calm visual appeal that I had not seen before in a piece of ceramic work. Evidence of directional forces is present as on observes the owl between the branches of the tree. The excellent use of gradient in the changing colors helps draw the eye to the focal point where the bird is perched on the branches.
The bottom portion of the jug consists of a deep brownish red that slowly changes color as it travels past the focal point of the picture. The middle section of detail where the branches and bird are situation is the transition point of the colors going from the red and brown to the black color, which appears to make-up the largest portion of the piece. However, when looking carefully at the art, it is easy to see that black is not the color taking up most of the vase, rather there is a fairly equal divide between the color black and the other colors making up the visual artwork as well as the red bottom base.
The proportion of the handle is interesting to the size and scale of the jug. One could almost think that it was done large on purpose to draw attention to the way the handle appears to be shaped like a bird. The size of the owl is even almost directly proportionate to the inside of the jug handle, as if the bird were meant to fit into the handle; almost as if the bird was originally in the handle and flew off to sit among the thick branches of the pine tree.
I am not sure but it appears an encaustic technique was needed to allow the artist to create such detailed painting of the owl and the tree scenery surrounding the owl. This was one of my favorite things about the artwork because I find that encaustic technique fascinating to incorporate into a piece of ceramic pottery that one generally expects to reflect only simple colors. When seeing an actual picture on a piece like that it is easy to appreciate the challenge the artist faced in creating such an intricate, yet simple design.
When I looked at this ceramic jug I was really intrigued by the subtleties about the piece. The first thing that drew my attention was the shadows that surrounded the jug as I walked by. I honestly think that the way that the artist sculpted this pottery was done with a manipulation of using shadows to send a message to the viewer. As I mentioned earlier, the jug handle was done with a resemblance to a bird with the shape looking like a small bird with a beak is perched on the tip of the jug. That is what can be seen when standing in a certain angle from piece, which can easily be seen through the photographs I took of the work. I took pictures in various angles because it is important to see the way the shadows fall surrounding the jug.
Aside from that, I truly loved the details with an overall simplicity that makes the jug a piece that could be displayed or used in any period of time. As a matter of fact I was surprised to see that it was circa 1900 because it looks like something that could easily be made within the past couple years. The jug has a timeless aesthetic about it, which I find extremely brilliant because an artist has to have a unique vision to create a piece that is not so strongly based on trends of era. The “Midwestern States” jug is a piece that could easily be used in 2016 as easily as it could be used in the 1900’s.
Overall, this piece of art was selected for all that is brought forth in my mind as I stood and observed it. The longer I stood there the more I started to notice based on the various techniques on concepts learned from the classroom content. For that reason I was impelled to take the photographs and write about the “Midwestern States” piece.