out of the fire and into the light

presented by Heirloom Ceramic Studio

at One Grand Gallery on September 27th, 2025

photos by James Noah Smith

Every day gets darker,

another shadow is eaten

by the deepening black

but a growing fire

has entranced a shadow.

They sat with the fire,

and sat with their hell. 

Embraced their darkness,

and danced in the flames.

Danced,

in the cherry-coloured, swirling fire,

and confronted by the taotaomo’na,

those who came before,

who led the shadow towards a glow 

not far in the sky.

Through the smoke they ascended,

erupting into the light.

A new declaration of life flowing down the face

of earth

out of the fire and into the light.

“It’s the same dream every night”

Life has a way of finding its way into my pots. Ripples and splashes of the streets I frequent lay upon the surface of my vessel[Westbound on the Morrison], one created as a technical challenge; wheel-thrown, wide-bodied with a small opening and narrow base, and fired only once. It is very much alive and defiant, not unlike one of my figurative forms that was built in multiple sections and stacked like latte stones(stone pillars and/or capstones, which represent house supports and are ascribed to the ancient people of the Mariana Islands). I spent many days breaking my body wedging, throwing, and combining multiple sections of clay ranging from 15 to 30 pounds to create my larger work. Patience, precision, and perseverance are necessary to make pieces at this scale. Through the process I destroyed and rebuilt much of the work you see here today and nothing is made with the intention of perfection. I believe that part of what makes ceramic an interesting medium is in the making and the ability to see the potter in the work, whether that is throwing lines, fingerprints, or little imperfections. It is the human aspect of a piece and where much of the vitality, life comes from.

Throughout my ceramic-focused residency, I've expanded my knowledge on clay, glaze, and other materials. My throwing abilities have become more refined and my grander ideas are becoming actualized. I've experimented with many different techniques but seem to have circled back to the things I initially found interesting, which is wheel-thrown sculptural pieces drenched in black, but now larger and with more color. Thank you Heirloom for the opportunity!