Randall E. Becker

Mazomanie, Wisconsin

Title: Buffalo Vase #44

Year of Creation: 2005

Glaze: Slips, oribe and wood ash drip glaze in wood fire cone 10

Clay Body: Stoneware

Dimensions: Height 26 inches, Width 12 inches

Artist's Statement: Who is my God? Do I make my art or does my art make me? The best art comes from the mind and body and the best of the best comes from the heart and soul. We don't have to invent new notes to make new music. Artist as symbol maker? God gave all people a cup of clay and from that they drink life. These are the thoughts that begin the formation of my art. My art reflects my life, my roots of growing up on the prairies of South Dakota, the influence of the Lakota Indian traditions and a German Lutheran heritage on my spirit and soul. Life has many stages of struggle and celebration. It is through my art that I discover not only what I am made of but also what I can make myself into.

This is about the beauty of form and function as well as the ideas and memories of landscape, of Unci (Grandmother) and Inan (Mother) Maka (Earth).

Sometimes we dream of being more than what we are.