“Growing out of my ribcage..” Growing out of my ribcage, just to let your softness multiply into a whole sky of lush clouds crowning the forest, so we can become a jungle dense with life.
“My darling..” My darling your words are often too sharp , and I am always too soft. But as long as you bring me honey and ginger to sweeten and strengthen my body, my wounds. I will always bring the softness to your hard edges. We will blur into each other creating a malleable thing. You will always bring me your backbone, so I can know how to stand up straight (alone). In this way, when the day is long for you and dark for me, we can meet in the middle, melding.
“As you pray..” As you pray, saying only my name, so I might save you from the monotony of waking up on a Wednesday by playing piano. My fingers only tapping the keys that make you sing.
This cup is one of 48 that make up the installation, “Fragments of Our Love Story.” These cups feature feminine forms that recall the Venus of Willendorf and other historical fertility objects. The carvings include many of my own writings and flow from one cup to another. Just as we hold each other’s stories in pieces and parts, the cups now exist throughout time and space, with many collectors. No two have the same words, making each unique in body, color, and content.
Growing Out of My Ribcage, Darling Your Words, and As You Pray, Triptych
Growing Out of My Ribcage, Darling Your Words, and As You Pray, 2019 Triptych
Porcelain cup with sgraffito detailing
Dimensions:
Overall size: 5.5 H x 9 W x 3 D in.
Individual size: 5.5 H x 3 W x 3 D in.
Unique
Hodge studied and graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Ceramics, with notable exhibitions such as Unsung Muses and Eyes That Bind, graduating summa cum laude and receiving honors such as the Outstanding Undergraduate Award. Here, clay became the conduit that allowed her to speak of her experience and, more importantly, her frustrations. Always curious to acquire more knowledge and skills, she pursued a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Miami. There she obtained the summer scholarship and the William Oberman Award, and graduated summa cum laude. During this time, she moved from expressions of anger to prioritizing love between women, the deep well of internal feminine landscapes and the historical exploration of women in relation to the present through ceramic material. Since then, her works have been exhibited at the Morean Arts Center, Arts Benicia and the Imurj Gallery, among others. She currently resides in rural Georgia, where she transforms her stories into sculptures that reveal what has been historically hidden.
