Rebirth
Inspired by the rituals of Dia de los Muertos, Rebirth is an exploration of vessel making, discussing the concept of body as vessel through my personal lens of being a woman and a mother. I take my vases a step further by making homemade candles and floral arrangements, creating a ritualistic space of grounding, reflection, calm, and remembrance. This process has taught me that rituals exist on a spectrum that ranges from daily showers and cups of coffee to events like weddings and funerals; throwing on the wheel and hand building vessels are deeply personal and ritualistic for me. My forms are often coil built, enabling me to leave traces of my touch and the building process, which is the foundation of my work; I create swollen bellies that reference the forms of bodies and flowers, and altered rims that resemble flower petals and labia. This is important to me as women’s and mother’s rights over their own bodily autonomy is always under attack to some degree.
Bio
Bessa Smith is a ceramics artist, mother, and Air Force veteran residing in southern Maine. She was originally born in Texas, raised within and influenced by her family’s Mexican culture. Her ceramic vessels are coil built, expressive forms that explore the concept of body as vessel by including swollen bellies and expressive rims that reference floral forms and female bodies. She creates ritualistic spaces with her vases by engaging in floral arrangement with living and dead flowers to reference nature and the cycles of life, death, and rebirth, creating a full circle moment alluding to body as vessel.
