This art pottery pendant features an image of a fragment of the Dead Sea scrolls overlaid into a shipwreck pottery fragment using traditional decoupage techniques and finished with a slight crackle effect and clear varnish. The reverse of this pendant shows the beautiful naturally worn pattern and surface of the pottery. Featuring a bail made of tiny glass seed beads.
Shipwreck pottery (also called "beach pottery" and "sea pottery") originates from pottery, dishes, and china that was discarded into the sea many years ago. Over time, the shards break into pieces and are tumbled smooth by the wind, ocean and sand. I collect these fragments from the shoreline of coastal towns across New England and turn them into one of a kind art pieces. Each piece is unique, with a natural distressed look, crackling, and sometimes original paint or type on the reverse. Pieces are very sturdy and smooth to the touch, with edges tumbled soft by the ocean.
In repurposing these shards, I am inspired by ancient art fragments as well as the Japanese concepts of Wabi-Sabi and Kintsugi, which highlight the beauty and history of objects that are broken or imperfect. Each shard has spent years tumbling through the ocean to find a new home in a piece of wearable art which highlights the beauty of its brokenness. The aged, organically shaped pottery fragment lends a relic-like mystery to each finished piece, merging the past and present into something poetic and timeless.
