Gumby pot

Date

circa 2005

Century

21st century

Medium & Support

Hand-built, low-fired, incised, and stamped ceramic

Dimensions

Overall: 4 1/2 x 10 x 10 in.

Style

Cherokee

Object Type

Ceramics

Class System

Decorative Arts & Design

Class 1

Sculptural

Credit Line

Museum purchase

Accession Number

2013.31.82

Description

Brown ceramic pot shaped similarly to a flying saucer with triangular shapes around the opening and around the base there are humanoid shapes.

Gumby presumably references the name of a clay animation character.

"The Gumby Pot was great. Things like that happen sometimes just without planning it. Clay doesn’t lend itself as well as wood does to using imperfections or qualities of the piece to create the object. Sometimes that kind of thing just happens. I’ve got a jar at home with a dragon head on top of it, and when I produced the jar I wanted it to be in a triangle shape. It came up to a point, and I wanted something like a stopper for the top of it. I had a ball of clay in my hand I kept just kneading it and working it and looking at the jug, and finally I laid the ball of clay down and when I did it looked just like a dragon’s head, the way I had squeezed it. So, I just kind of took it and turned it into a dragon’s head and put it on the top of the jar. And now the opening to the jar is in the dragon’s mouth. And so sometimes clay will lend itself to that kind of thing, but I love experimenting and getting my own personality involved in what I’m doing. That’s kind of what happened with the Gumby pot."

[Source: Interview with Davy Arch]

Label History

The clay of Cherokee pottery is largely mined from the earth by hand. The ceramicist literally immerses oneself in the materials of labor. It is a full-circle experience, resulting in vessels that herald both the utilitarian lifestyle and cause for celebration. Cherokee pottery also speaks of cross-cultural relationship building across centuries of trade and travel. From firing techniques to inlay design and shape, Cherokee pottery serves as a marker of the changing human experience, such as Davy Arch’s (born 1957) Gumby pot, which combines traditional techniques with pop culture iconography. Depending on the artist or time period in which it is crafted, a single work can exhibit a myriad of influences from across the continent, just as Cherokee people continue to be influenced by a global population.

Exhibition Title: Asheville Art Museum: An Introduction to the Collection
Label Date: 2021
Type: Catalogue Entry
Written by: Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

Keywords

Cherokee

Cherokee

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