Good afternoon and thank you for joining us. My name is Amanda Zehnder and I'm the Chief Curator and Head for Museums here at University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press. Let's begin with the UD Living Land Acknowledgment. The University of Delaware occupies lands vital to the web of life for Lenni Lenape and Nanticoke, who share their history, and future in this region. UD has financially benefitted from this regional occupation, as well as from indigenous territories that were expropriated through the United States land-grant system. European colonizers and later the United States forced Nanticoke and Lenni Lenape westward and northward where they formed nations in present day Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada. Others never left their homelands or returned from exile when they could. We express our appreciation for ongoing and digital stewardship of the ecologies and traditions of this region. While the harms to indigenous people and their homelands are beyond repair, we commit to building great relationships going forward. by collaborating with tribal leadership on actionable institutional steps. And so thank you all again for joining us today for this virtual event: Artists Talk and Demonstration with Bobby Silas. This program is being recorded and will be on the Library, Museums and Press homepage for future reference under Visit > Events and Workshops > and then Recorded Events. This is the final program complementing the current exhibition in Old College Gallery called Grounded Innovation. Pueblo arts of clay on view through my May 14. We're honored to have one of Bobby Silas' pots included in the exhibition. And that pot is on loan to us from the collection of Judith and Eric Robertson. Midway through the demonstration today there will be a brief period of questions and answers. And there will also be time at the end of the session for questions and answers as well. If you have any questions, please use the chat on Zoom to submit your question. Ashley Rye-Kopec, curator of education and outreach for the museums and Victoria Sunnergren, a PhD candidate in the art history department. And the lead guest curator for the exhibition, Grounded Innovation, Pueblo Arts of Clay, that will facilitate the question and answer sessions. And so now it's my pleasure to introduce you to Bobby Silas. Bobby Silas is a creative potter, reviving ancient designs for his contemporary pottery. He credits learning to make pottery in the very beginning from his godfather, Kevin Avastin. While Silas is Hopi, he also works in traditional Zuni styles and pottery making. Building our earlier knowledge of Hopi pottery, he continued learning pottery making methods in 2004 and 2005 when he lived in Zuni Pueblo and attended Zuni high school, where his teacher was Gabriel. Peloma. In 2010, he developed an artistic working partnership with his late friend Timothy Adoki. They both worked in the style of Zuni and polychrome, inspired by historic Zuni ceramics. Silas and Adoki continued making pottery for another ten years before continuing on their own artistic paths. Silas continues making Zuni polychrome, as well as traditional forms of Hopi pottery. Silas' focus on the Hopi tradition has been the revival of Sikaytki, pottery methods originally from the years 1100 to 6800, and he accomplish this technique through trial and error. Since 2015 and Bobby has revived this Sikaytki method of fire and using lignite coal, what she had acquires near antelope mesa in Hopi. Sikaytki pottery is fired with lignite, which burns longer and at a higher temperature than firing possible with sheep manure. His pieces are inspired by the Sikyatki polychrome and Jeddito black-on-yellow pottery. Each piece is hand coiled, painted with native clay slips. and a bee-weed plant variant. Silas has won awards for his distinctive and creative pottery. We'll begin our session now with a discussion of the pot that's on view in Old College Gallery. And without further ado, please join me in welcoming Bobby. Silas. Hello everybody. My name is Bobby. I am from the village of Buck v. And I'm sorry, I didn't hear and working on a part for us today. And also we are going to be talking about. Exhibit and the party that's in the exhibit. So this part here is one that I created several years ago. The part is done in the Hopi shape and form and design. But what makes this really unique is that the, the pottery is, has three different types of prehistory hablo designs, dating back about 13 to 1300 to 6800. And it's prehistoric Hopi under, with the hands and prehistoric zany and then Priya pottery mound, which is a location located a little bit south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Where where there was migrations from that location, pottery mound and some of the Pueblo locations down that way. And then they migrate to Hopi and into the area. And going, and going back and forth. And through those designs I wanted to show people inspiration on. So you have zinnias doing praised for their style and that they had gotten from hopi pottery and was kind of inspired the tray. So I wanted to put that on there. And in the previous thread formed from these different locations, this is just to show the pottery designs. And so the, the pottery, the top is a designed with the hand. That design represents probably somebody from a clan. The hand symbolizes the person that is killing the pottery. And then you can see that I couldn't drag around the rim of the jar as symbolizes that there was a parrot feathers in a powder. You like a symbolic style of the interpretation of them to Political Science, I guess you can say it's how they painted them. And you have the design with the triangle that is prescribed zooming. And that's kind of to the right on the belly part. That's a Zuni style. There, there, there's one way to them why their version of what Hopi pottery looks like and they were doing this and Zuni area. They were packed to the tab where I'm at mapping with the red. And they're practicing that style for about 200 years. Here in the video we can. And that was from about, about 14 to 1600 is a very short time period, but z is adapted it very quickly, but just in a matter of 200 years and it is stocks. And then they switch back to creating Zuni polycarbonate. Why slipping and goes in this period here region. And then the powdery mound design, which is to the left of that design on the belly. Current dates back about, not quite sure, I believe like 1300. But they're creating a polygon sound very, very similar to the C Jackie polychrome style. And I, and we believe that it's the same kind of people that have migrated them to Hopi to like actually let me say below for Frisbee. So there's a village called SEC yucky. And then you'll hear a lot. Party. A party who revived her style GKE polychrome, but wasn't doing coal-fired. These are come from that time period, about 1314 to 1600. And here is talking about the fairing techniques that, that I, I practice. I practice about maybe I would say about ideal cedar wood, cheap manure, ligand I call and tell down. And I practice these different styles just based on France and experimenting, but I try to keep each one with that. The powder so zany, they sheep manure and a shaman or a firing is a kind of newly adapted as a husband firing that weren't brought to the public during when the missionaries came and taught the pebbles, the fire hotter using sheep manure. And because that's been a bike, domesticated animals along. So that's the historical form. But the earliest form, they were firing before that, before the dimension I separate sheep manure and domestic. Animals but had been width or pretty much weight in this area. And in the Hopi region would have been coal, as you can see here. And then to the left. That's why kill and clay. And this is what this is made from. And then privacy Litvinenko. And then the photo below, that is when I had used cedar wood to start the fire and to make the coke combust and I feed the fire for about, I would say about maybe three hours before actually to the right starts to combustion, as you can see, slowly, Isn't that slow burn? But it lasts a long, long period. I think apart for lignin, coal firing is about 12 to 14 hours. And so I will be demonstrating how to pay my pottery. So that's what I'm doing. And so the materials that I'm using is this is called hematite stone. And then I have a stone here. And it's kind of like a high river stone. Usually the pellets consisted of like lava rock, something very like a quartz kind of something very hard. That won't grind down is easy, but we'll be able to take them to him, take stones. And then the binding event that I use, excuses or tickets, people are Rixner, should I say? The binding agent is a plant here. And this is just the plant material as boil down AND gates. And then you break off a piece of it and you put it in this pellet and then reduce it with water. And then you mix the hematite stone with it. And and then that's what creates your near black key for to here. So this is a binding event for the and the hematite stone to stick on to here pottery. And then I'll show you guys how that is then. And let me know if you have clients who answer. So the layout cookie probably chrominance varies. Very unique. It's very abstract and formed. So a lot of the designs of very abstract, but you gotta have an eye for design when I'm painting them. To figure out with community. And the plant that I'm using to paint the the the powder is Yucca plant. And I think I have yeah, yeah. So this is a yucca fiber. It's a plant and it's when you break it down and moisten it than it. And then when I'm doing is I'm grinding it down, this mixing it up. And then I'll do that and then I get my paint brush and start painting. But what was facing? Yeah, The Yucca plant is one that I have gotten used to using and it takes a lot of practice to accomplish getting used to. I know a lot of people, a lot of partners feel more comfortable using store-bought constancy, store-bought paint brushes. But the traditional brush would be the, the yucca fiber. That Hopis practice a lot using painting with that yucca fiber. And uses that pool and then drag and enlist. And then that's how you paint you designs on their pottery. And the layout is if all that powder. But the designs consist of as like the ones that you saw on the friar for for the exhibit. A lot of the designs on the polychrome. Our Cloud designs. If because the environment that we live in and we're corn growers. So, so the manipulation cause it's very important to us. So anyway, to ask the clouds for rain. In the spiritual sense, symbology, I threw pairs and stuff like that. It's just, you know, we're always asking for, for that, not just for the corn, but for everything to every, everybody, the whole, for the whole world, for the animals and everything to that don't have water in there. So that way, because water is life, right? So water, it's very important to us, especially because the environment we live in. And where I'm from in Hopi were dry farmers. And that's kind of basically go by prayer and hope that our corn row grow every year. So our page for ring are always, always found on ceramics, painting, petroglyphs. This kind of kind of ways that we express ourselves and our beliefs. We want because it's just not for us, it's for everybody. And then there's different design means. Different Cloud designs that you that people are paying. Their designs consist of, you know, like the pictures that she was showing me firing. There's any pottery with sheep manure that designs. And I'll show you a plot here. This is a Zuni polychrome. This is quite slut. And the designing, in fact the bone. These are Rotating clouds and these I wrote hitting clouds and these check marks that are around, are they symbolize protection against, I guess you can say that seeing or bad, bad people, or it's just to protect the person and the pottery from that you do is you can say and then you have, yeah, yeah, you're paying for their motives here. And then you see that these represent prayer sticks and neither feathers, the turkey feathers represent parents. And then your eyes. I hear this also. I symbolically by clouds, rotating coyotes and stuff. And then you have your steps here. How do you mean so many things but the stack signify that when the ancestors come in the form of rain, this is their ancestors. So the eyes on, on pottery. So when there's ice put on your designs, it's no longer a prayer. If this was this black, it would be a prayer. But when you put the eyes on, it symbolizes that it's no longer a prayer, that living beam. So this is like a living being. This path is like this. This is like saying, this is what this represents. This is a living part of the person, especially creating the public, bringing it to life. But yeah, it's just the diamond. And then I'll get back to that. Pop to the right. So the top here, you can see a heart hurt line here is the break. You'll find that a lot in southwest pottery, especially in the Hopi region, is even in other, other proposed here. It doesn't show up in and stuff like the black on white stuff, the black on white stuff, the old pottery. They don't hurt lines and they're telling later on, but now they do. And this signifies that that, that this is the lifeline of a powder. This signifies that the breath of life, because that part is still living. And so you always leave that open for this, the spirit of the vessel to leave us becoming go as it pleases. But on this one on the bottom, now, I think it's on the other side and then on the top tracks. But these are very, very important because I'll quote it to you from a grandma, this to research but from organic and pebble. She she said that if one, this closes off the line, now, one is cutting their life. And so it's very important to put the Heartland because it's just for the harder it is for the person. So self as well. So that's what the hurtling screen. So you'll find these on the bottom. So that's this powdery that she's style. So I'll show you guys a different style. So these are the paints that consist with Hopi pottery. This is greenish clay that trans yellow, which is kind of funny because this yellow, yellow ocher, this turns red. So this gray, we'll turn to that yellow in this yellow with an infrared. And then you have your white. Your white paint for like any designs that you want. White, space, white. It doesn't it doesn't change any kind of color. It stays awake. Since you have your your your Anasazi stuff. Yeah, prehistoric stuff. I pack this pierced by Hopi, which is this one, the coal firing. And that might do prehistoric Anasazi which is older, much older and that one's using wood firing and organic P without the stone. So it's just the plant juice that's on the powdery. So the pod use is the binding eaten basically? And his here it is in kind of wet form. And with it you, this painted on your pottery. So when you pendant on it's kind of way, it depends on how dark you make it, but you can see that this is the the organic paint. And when fired in touch count manner, using cedar wood, it's going to turn black. And I have some examples to show you guys. But let me show you real quick how this is applied. So it's just the plant juice. And then you this that you apply it. When you paint designs with organic Pete, you start from inside and then go out because so you have to use it from the inside design first and then going out. Because once you touch it and you tell your partner, you and Ellie blacks black, black fingerprints all over. So you gotta be careful. I use this. So either way, this one I put like block designs around the edge. They don't really have to be like too close or whatnot. But and then you just let it, you know, you painted on the end. And then you just let it dry. And that's, that's the prehistoric form. That's, that's 0. That's the oldest type in that one. I have a great example to show you guys. I just got them firing them yesterday. So i'll I'll show you what they look like. My prehistoric stuff looks different than my stuff that I showed you at a TEDx to make things look authentic and old and whatnot. So this is a later that I mean, and this is using the organic Pete and it's played in a trench manner, but this is this is the deal. We'll call this Reno black and gray. But this is with the organic. This is with the organic pink will turn black in the tension. The trench coat. And so anything that's in attention when it fires will turn a negative color. So anything that has iron that turns bright red or anything, we'll turn a dark gray. And that, that's because the pottery is like five to ten minutes after the last flame goes out. The parties mother, it was San and that causes off the oxidation. And with that, it turns the pottery body, anything that has color will turn a negative effect. So a great example of that is here. I have a cooking pot. So this is fired and attention. And this people always say this looks like it's just raw clay, but it's fired already. And you can tell. And this is what they were cooking long time ago. And this press fight in a country count is gray. But if I were to fire this in the oxidized atmosphere, it will turn pink like a pinkish color. But because it's a reduction, yeah, you're turning into negative colors. But this prehistoric form of firing. So I do several different types. And those are, those are some of the examples of what I have. The, the, the Hopi pottery. I know some will probably have questions or how did you get the surface smooth? So I'll just give you guys a quick example of that. So I have a base here and you display it with water. But the sponge longtime ago, the pupil this dip their hands and water and rub their PA and then spread it over. And then you get a river stone as Caribbean stone has different types here. And then you go over, Here's polish it. This is a time consuming part, but this is where you want to do it in a strong way. Probably like, like this by a window. You can see that streaks and see how good of quality or you're touching of 100. And I know a lot of Hopi potter to realize their pottery like really nascent and sharing for a lot of them, will they take their time to me, I do it. All. Looks good. And then I'll finish off polishing. Then you just get their palm has its costs over a rabbit, that people get a caution. If you go like that, rub your hand over it and it'll get nice and shame. You can see I've shown you, but that's how you buff your hobby. And then you get That's how you, I guess waterproof fitness and it's not waterproof it but prevent your pottery from spilling out too much fluids and stuff. Because when you put water, water and pottery, if it's a natural absorbance. So it's going to absorb the moisture and it's going to go somewhere. So but, you know, but the polishing helps keep in the moisture as Abraham come out as fast. But Zuni potteries like that. It's real good. Clay in it. It holds water. When the ladies put the, the water energizing chariot, the clay smell good and hold water like Acoma party to it so that it holds liquids and stuff. And this too, when you click on this, you can pick in this, you can actually click and that's printed on a flame. And put water in there and put beans and boil it. And I've already has a couple parts that I could quit. And so this, this is utilitarian where so you can use this pottery so it is functional. But yeah, that's what I have for you guys. And you guys have any questions, please feel free to ask me because yeah, incident scares the Damascus is kinda windy here. My allergies, so I have my mask on. And we have one question. And I think you may have already answered. And allies, can you tell us why you left a gap in the painted band around the top of the jar. Now if you have anything else to say about that or every time I have some questions to you? It's just a separate line. I don't go telling them again. The hard way and that represents the lifeline of it, signifies that the person is still living. And that and it's the spirit length two for the best of all this, because we believe that the country is a living being after it comes out. We look at Hunter, yes. Our children. And yeah. So that's how we look at them. And once we find them, we bring them to life. I guess you can say, Yeah. Bobby, uh, how do you market your work? Where do you find buyers for your work? I have like a Facebook page and I usually busy. There are usually some things I have collected. Have a wide variety of people. I mean, it depends on how, how, you know. It depends. I have like with the prehistoric stuff, This grab people like the prehistoric stuff. Absolutely. Anthropologists, archaeologists and stuff like that exists. Whether it, and then just people that are very knowledgeable about southwestern poverty that know their stuff. Instead, had been collecting party for years. I know what they want. So yesterday like to collectors and others posts on Facebook and it isn't really take me too long. Because people with this was the authenticity of it and how it looks and stuff like that really puts people in and buys it. And then I have bye. Xenophanes and whatnot are a couple of questions. Another question about ions and someone asked why there's more than one Hotline on the pot. And then someone else separate question also about lines on the pot. And someone asked with the vertical lines on the path that you're doing right now mean the difference. So these are going to be a layouts for other designs to go in-between. So out of this, cut these into little squares. And each square that out, I'll put a symbol, a potty design in there related to clouds or some sort of designs. Here I'm going to use like that. Putting a pair feathered motives here in these sections signifying the four directions. Because deduction, they're very meaningful to you to pedal. So we always not moisture to come from every direction. So we paid for, because you come from each direction to bless our fields with rain and the animals and all that stuff. And this everything. I'm hurt lanes are open on a top and bottom. Like I said, you never leave. One, open because it signifies this where the person's living well-being, I guess you can say well-being. So that way they'll always be around and stuff. It's like more like a taboo thing. You don't close them. You leave them open. And an openness. Well, so that way, like I said before, that the spirit of the vessel will be free to come and go as the previous. But the interesting thing too, where they tell us is that when we pass away and Rigo to the heavens, we're going to close it off because we had finished that. Both the others powdery again and we'll will close a mock because we had finished our life here. So that's how we say, when we get to the heavens, finish battering or close that off because we have completed our journey here in this world. We have another question in the chat Bobbi asking what drew you to Zuni pottery. And at the same time we have someone asking if you could perhaps show again an example of Sydney pottery. So perhaps you can answer these two questions together. Probably prefer. So what Jimmy is an important was I came here when I was 17 years old and I just it was funny. I just counted as I've been here, It's going to be 20 years that I've been like, oh my God, it's so crazy how I always copy back to the prevalent. But anyway, so I took it in class. So when I was in high school and I was taking a pottery class, I've learned the basics. I didn't really truly when traditional Zuni pottery. But when I was hoping when I learned it from my godfather, I had that knowledge with me already. Like pins and the minerals and process in place and whatnot. So when I came here to the Pueblo, Hopis have their own way of doing pottery. They've, they're always doing that. You know, it's, it's an everyday thing for them. People would be firing pottery every day. And you'll see clouds and people are like, oh, you know, the smoke of newer going and they'll say, Oh look at you smell the smell of money. They dug around and say like some months making money or their blessing second account. But when I came here to the prevalently, if z is very different, I came here and I was looking for the old pottery that I had seen with the ladies Kenya on their head. And by the time I had met Tim about 2010, and he when I asked him about that, it really venture too much into pottery even after high school. Hey, I don't think I really even sometimes I'm surprised that even coming this far, I never thought that I would even be a potter here in the Pueblo. But I asked my partner the pottery that the ladies K on his head and he said, You guys, he took me to one of the caliph has this nice it kind of like that, But this kind in a tournament picture. And he goes, Oh, nobody makes pottery like that anymore. And you're not coming from Hopi having traditional pottery. I I told him, I said, Well, lets you create that file pottery. You want to do in here as well. Okay, So we went off and we started asking people. People didn't really share too much knowledge with us. But like I said, I already brought that from Hopi. I just made it a little bit more. You figure it out? Probably the the the plant to boil that down. Just a little hint. This two to get the things, the white slip. How to apply the white slip? Where do you get the clay here? And she had knowledge and I had knowledge. So we we combine that and we were able to figure out zooming polygon crown. And and that's, that's when I watch an ethnographic film of us in Lady making pottery from beginning to end. And what I did is I watched that video over and over and over until I got it out. And that's okay. Whereas I completed got was successfully and figuring out like making paint sticks, that's just a pottery. That was the tricky part because we went through trial and error with that having come off of our powder it but this just getting it down trying to I was able to accomplish that to get the paint to stick to the part. So then after that we succeeded. But a mystery, a little quick course. The zinnias have hotlines. They're hardly visible. Like compare few. Hopi a bunch. Here's a great example. So here is the hotline for Zuni pottery, and you can barely see it there, open there and on the bottom. So zinnias have that and then they have it in the inside as well to the side. And that's the width that I do. And I still passed this, the zinnias style. Even though my, my melee credit, it's gone. The people in the community really push me to keep practicing because nobody really practice the Austerlitz and pottery. So I I, I'm doing it now and I still get order square steel balls and stuff like that. So I try to practice it and keep it going. So I'm teaching a class in inquiry to you. So hopefully, I will have my dream of having this old age did not see that youth in and have it continue for years because right now I think I'm the only one yeah. And the pebble that meets or pottery pottery and fires and outside sales. So, but yeah. So great. We had another question about process and inspiration. And so someone asks, when you go to create a past, how do you prepare and get the inspiration for the design? Yeah, So when when, you know, with the process, it starts off with clay, sorry, allergies, my gosh. It's so windy here. So this is the claim. This is the Zuni clan. And then I have my Hopi clay here too. So i, i o, can switch back from different medians of pottery, but I always keep one with, with its own. So it first starts with making pottery and then creating it into a bowl with your hands. And, you know, when I when I teach somebody always tell them, you know, you had am I squeezing it and really yeah. But I always tell them be gentle with it. And when you make your powder, you know, be gentle with the clay. You don't have to be rough with it. You just take your time with it. And that's the thing about pottery too, is something that's very time-consuming. You have to have a lot of patients were to come to completed and and that that that's as far as, you know, going out and mining your clay, which we're going to be doing here from for my class. You know, going out mining clay, digging if. But when you go, you go and you offer Crimea and your prayers and ask for it. We don't just take the clay. You asked whether if he can take from her and use it in positive ways, of course. And always having that good intention in your heart when going to these, these, these special places where we get clay. And so that I always highly encourage and teach my students as well. It's very important that comes along with getting pay and harvesting it, processing it, breaking it down, you know, getting materials and creating a Temper temper as bike or pre-charged time ago, they used to get all pottery shards. All villages has cash mittens long time ago. So if somebody had a pottery and it broke, they have a pile where they would have broken pottery. And people would go to their pickup, potentially put them in a bowl, powders especially in there, Get him out and then take a PAM and then crushed of Patricia Stone and then add that to their wet clay. And that strengthening and clay that prevents it from cracking and shrinking too much. There's this, all these old techniques that go along with doing pottery. The way you make them, you know, the way, the way that they're made. Like for instance, this, this bowl here has a little indention right here where that line goes around. There's a bump in there. And people always ask, well, why is that bump in there? And I said, You know, people are very smart and creating these pottery. This is a stable and when they go take the food to the Cuba, they've put it on their head and they walk with it to the Cuba house. And that bump is to prevent bad splash is prevented. So the people were very smart at figuring out saying, I try to incorporate other cities into creating pottery. And that's from getting it on crushing your clay. First of a high-risk crashing a temper, your water, mixing it in your ear, bow, I'm dotting it up. I'll ask another question and that's actually a group of students, a lot of our students thinking through the accidents and not that long ago and on the students always want to know how long it takes to make things. You mentioned before that this is it's a long process. It takes a lot of time, but I wanted to just talk about how long it takes to me. I gotcha. Yeah. So the the pottery takes about let me see. Yeah. So when you when you get your I think from guiding and to to to to doing that. So I spend one day granting clay and i've, I've foil ways the grand clay on what might that they have a grinding stone, money. I thought the Hopi, we say mmm on Thursday. But this, this easier ways of going around their new tricks that partners have come up with and that these corn grain day. So I use a current gain that become a make clean and then graying it and put it through and then mix it, cut a lot of time and have compared to the old way where you'd be sitting on its downgrading Gaelic that pounding it and adding water answer. But it's always good to learn that way too, because it shows you, you know, shows you how hard it will as long time ago to create something like that in that old age manner gives you a really grateful for learning and produce. Man, it's a lot of work. But yeah, so, so creating them and it's hot topic, kinda went off topic. Yet is creating them in, in, in the old age fashion and putting it in there. I was saying. But a good 40. You one day is like grinding, mixing a temper, you mix your clay. The next day. Sometimes some people are fast, they'll make a pot that same day, but it takes me about baby to our CMYK, the jar. And then from there, the drying period is about an extra two days a week, about a week for a job. But if you make more than one, you can have them lined up. So the more clay you make them our parts you me, then you can have these lined up and then you can just work your way as the ICO. And that's usually how I do it. I tried to make us more than one part. And then as I make one and complete it and replace that one that's completed and spoke with another. And I just keep going. Keep going. With the Yucca plant. It takes years. It took me like about a year to get this down. Or my partner was the painter, melee partner with Peter and he was really good at painting, but he didn't really like using the Yucca plant. Your compiler doesn't see you can show us this is a flake, super tiny, and this is, this is the favorite from it. And then I'm able to create your own brush with the, you know, everything that you need around, you know, Mother, Nature, mother. She has all that for you around you. All the other that she has. She's provided everything, even the hematite stones. You know, the plants are just right outside by the workshop Pino. And it's so funny because I was out here picking the plants. The Tenzing must've time for my class Kenya neighbors. Because he hasn't been practice you're naturally for a long time. So I was out, you're picking the plants and the neighborhoods were wondering what I was doing. And I told him that I was picking plants for poverty. And they were fascinated by that. And they watched me out here boiling the plants. A metal washed her. And they're very curious. No, because nobody does that anymore. And so I traits you are with someone asked me questions or anything. I'm very open about sharing that with me and especially at the community as well, because I would like to have people now use our knowledge of traditional primary key. We have just like to say we have one more question about how you arrive at your painted design. How do you decide? But symbolism you're going t is usually I, I've I study the pottery. So studying it and just going out researching PPE. And you're seeing them, you know, it kind of it sticks in your mind after awhile. And then I'm able to this building, what do I want? And then you look, you think about the time that we're used to as well. I think spring time and you aren't ringing for people's crops to grow and stuff like that. And so right now when people are punching some patterns, especially as any country though, the designs with they look like little, little bags with dots in it. Any pottery and those signify seats. But they signify another thing as well. They signify the grandfathers and grandmothers, like in the heavens. Those, they're going to come and plant with you. So you just think about things like that. And then the way that we're going to comply with you is when the clouds, you see Hale and those hail stone signify them planting seeds. So the way, the way we think about things in the Paypal, as I spoke of, as far as blessings and spirituality is not too far-fetched. I like a semitone means it's very common census. The things that we want for, for all living beings and stuff like that. And you tell somebody that way, oh, like, like the class I'm going to be teaching abuse screening. And you, and I explained that to some people to the shear and the probability of this design, this, and it signifies that the grandmothers and grandfathers are going to come and we're going to plant. But in the former hill. And they look at it and they go, you know, they're just like I had never even think that looking at it out there shows how much you, you know, change has happened. So the design meetings are really important, but it just depends on like me. I'll be like right now I'll probably do something with though with clouds and stuff, Ginsberg and something with clan, maybe put Quincy Jones. People are plenty. But it's usually always a water-related sometimes up at stuff like lightning or something, It's antelope something you powdery like hunting and stuff and how and why not? Because we always warn, you want the dear to your own. Bring these now. Bring blessings and tear her too as well. Foods. And then when you paint, you need there's on a powder, you know, even, even there's any there. When you look at Jupiter and even the gear has Hartley. And a lot of people will probably see that it's like a red line and it goes through the body, body and it goes in the chest, signifying a cart. And you always have that. When you, when you paint on pottery signifies that you're, you're, you're watching the breath of life for the idea that it's hard to always be coin. And then you always, like some kind of a long time ago, the gin entirely on there for the male year. And then for female, they'll put like maybe baby fonts and stuff like that next to them. This signifying fertility and stuff like that. You know, the people in the Pueblo world. Here. We painted the world that we see around us. The very visual people. We read. We could see a deer hunted by bringing it into the home. And ladies that never go hunting long time ago, you know, when that was. Their time to see a life year coming to your home was when the amendment hunting. And that's the way they saw it when it was laid out on the floor and then, you know, when they painted it on pottery, it wasn't always exactly, they didn't paint exactly how it looked, but then the pottery form kind of sin the way that he came to the, um, pottery with how it looked to them. But you got the picture when you bringing your answer. The other thing say, there. They always are painted on pottery, tap holes. Dragonfly, messenger, messenger for moisture or dragonflies. They signify that there's water around, which is a good thing. Poets, poly works frauds on those typo, signified fertility as well. So you have all these things that have more than one meaning. But how you place them on pottery and how you want to tell a story of what you want for your community partner. Yet, it's up to the PO. They want to present their blessings there where they asked for from there to there scripts, you know, what they want. So the part basically it's like a whole permanent prayer. Yeah. Well, we don't have any more questions and we're just about at time and I think that's maybe the perfect place to end the idea of the pot holding and permanent parallelism. And so I just want to thank you so much, Bobby. And thank everyone who attended and ask questions today. And as we previously mentioned, the exhibition Grounded Innovation, Pueblo Arts of Clay is on view at the University of Delaware through May 14. We put a link in the chat or will be putting a link in the chat with more information. And we hope that you visit the exhibition if you're able. Also, Please join us for our next event Scholar in the Library on May 11th, from 12 to 1 PM. This event will be held in person. The speaker is Kent Messer the S. Hallock du Pont Professor of Applied Economics and the director of the Center for Experimental and Applied Economics at the University of Delaware. He is also the co-director of the Center for Experimental Agri-Environmental Research (CBEAR), a USDA Center of Excellence. The title of his talk is “The Right Water for the Right Purpose: Consumer Behavior, Stigma and Social Acceptance of Water Reuse for Agriculture. For more information on upcoming events and to register, I encourage you to visit the events calendar on our library website at library.udel.edu/events. And again, thank you so much Bobby and everyone for joining us today.
Artist Talk - Bobby Silas - April 28, 2022
From Kristopher Raser May 06, 2022
3 plays
3
comments
You unliked the media.