Low fire stoneware

This piece is from a series of architectural inspired forms that explored meaningful places from past periods of my life. One of a dozen tree houses built in this series, this piece feels closest to the tree houses I built as a child, often with the help of my maternal grandfather and typically constructed out of a hodge podge of found materials. The piece symbolizes the relationship I had with my grandfather and serves as a metaphor for appreciating all the things in life, even when they are messy, piecemeal, and eventually bound to decay - much like my grandfather's final years of life as he battled dementia and other ailments that left his body and mind severely deteriorated. It is a reminder of both the happy and melancholic times that I had with him, but also a reminder of the joy that those structures brought to me, my friends, and my younger siblings as we played in them throughout our childhood.