Howdy Folks,
Happy 4th of July weekend! Sorry for the long radio silence, but as you know there has been lots of stuff going on, everywhere and all at once.
For the past year I have been spending a lot of time thinking about objects and our relationships to them, as well as the history of humanity, inventions and the development of societies. I'm fascinated by all that has come before us and what that tells us about ourselves and where we are headed, as well as my own humble place in the very long line of makers and artisans. Although I don't necessarily have any answers, I think simply being a curious observer is an important role that we all can play as we try to make sense of the rapidly changing world.
At any rate, as you all know, I have long been interested in symbols, as my stamped tools and pottery objects clearly show. I have always liked the idea of bringing very ancient and mythical symbols together with the craziest ideas and modern materials. And so we get dinosaurs and UFO's together on the most enduring materials currently known to humanity such as titanium or zirconium. Some of these materials, like pottery before them, are destined to literally last forever. But pottery is wonderfully durable itself and that is lucky for us because it gives us some of the oldest evidence for how ancient humans lived and what they thought. And sometimes the fragments left behind are as interesting and enigmatic as a whole complete piece would have been.
Today I have for you the first in a series of Mysterious Ancient Artifacts. These are stoneware clay tokens or worry stones. They vary in size from about a dime to silver dollar size. Crudely struck, they sometimes resemble ancient hammered coins or medallions, and many have tiny cracks and fissures that give them a wonderful ancient feel which is further enhanced with pigments during the firing process. I use many symbols on them which range from ancient to modern, with every subject under the sun, including heraldic images, whimsical portraits, aliens, Bigfoot, nature, dogs, weapons, monsters, bugs, pirates, and abstract patterns. Most of these are double sided and they often have wildly different themes on front and back. A few are name stamped, but most are not because it seemed important to me to take my own ego out of it and let these objects speak to future generations anonymously.
Atwood Artifacts are designed to be carried in your pocket, or keep them on your desk or windowsill. I have lots of these underway and so will have more batches coming up this summer. I also have a limited series in other materials coming up soon that I am currently experimenting with.
These Ancient Stoneware Tokens will run $15 each plus shipping and the link is below. Have a great weekend folks, and stay cool!
All gone for now, but more on the way. Thanks again!
