We were honored to work alongside Potawatomi Ceramicist Jason Wesaw this fall, to harvest, process, and pit fire local clay.
“When language dies, so much more than words are lost. Language is the dwelling place of ideas that do not exist anywhere else. It is a prism through which to see the world.”
– Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
“Wabgonkemen” roughly translates to “making things out of clay together” and what a joy-filled experience this is! From the banks of the creek at Wolter’s Woods, we harvested some clay that we used, along with local clay harvested by Jason Wesaw, to craft forms that we pit fired at the Outdoor Discovery Center, in a workshop inspired by the NEA Big Read book American Sunrise, by Joy Harjo.
As we built a fire for our greenware, it was good to reflect on strength and fragility (not everything made it through the pit fire, but some pieces really surprised us)! We spoke of traditions and ceremonies, of language and pets. We also learned a bit about how Jason Wesaw engages historical methods while also creating artwork that is very much at home in the contemporary art world.
During both of our workshops at the Outdoor Discovery Center, groups of elementary school students visited our worksite and learned a bit about clay and about the seven original Anishinaabe clans from this area. They worked together to create clay animals that represent those clans and before excitedly running down the trail to discover their own clay in the wild. We also loved co-leading a Little Read workshop at the ODC in which participants made pinch pots from some of the clay we’d harvested, and they pressed milkweed seeds into them. They’ll plant these in the coming weeks before winter, helping to ensure a good crop of milkweed to support monarch butterflies. We’ll treasure these moments together, learning from one another, harvesting from the Earth, and giving back to her in return.
The songs and stories that formed us are restless
and need a place to live in the world of our grandchildren.
They are weary with waiting.
– Joy Harjo, Let There Be No Regrets
Thank you, Jason Wesaw and NEA Big Read Lakeshore and Outdoor Discovery Center for this opportunity to learn and grow. And thank you, Mark Parker, for the photos!
