Ortonville- Local artist Sue Hovey recently burned her favorite ceramic piece.
And she couldn’t be happier.
Hovey created a coil pot from clay on a potter’s wheel and then, with several classmates from University of Michigan-Flint, dug a hole 12 feet wide by 1 and a half foot deep in a 3 acre yard. They placed several ceramic pieces, including Hovey’s in the hole along with cedar chips and sticks. In an African practice called ‘pit-firing,? they then started a fire in the pit they would keep burning for four hours.
To finish the piece, Hovey added willow sticks and other plant material to put through holes in the pot, added gold painted real leaves, ceramic beads and gold coins she made, and placed ceramic cups in the vessel.
She named it ‘Africa Sings? and it was recently accepted for the 2005 MEA (Michigan Education Association) Art Acquisitions Purchase Exhibition.
‘I thought I had a good chance (at being selected) because it’s a really interesting piece,? Hovey said. ‘It’s very primitive, tribal. It speaks of what Africa is about.?
Hovey, 49, was inspired by the African art class she took at U-M. She graduated in December 2003 with a B.S. in art education and also earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Wayne State University in 1992.
Hovey hopes to find a permanent position as an art teacher. For now, she is a substitute teacher in Clarkston. She doesn’t create art everyday, but regularly sketches things she’d like to make and takes watercolor sets to school.
‘I was very happy to have my work accepted,? she said. ‘I plan to keep entering shows.?
The 41st annual MEA Art Acquisitions Purchase Exhibition is designed to showcase the art of Michigan artist-educator members. Accepted works are on display 8 a.m.-5 p.m.,through May 3 at the MEA headquarters, 1216 Kendale Blvd., East Lansing. The art can also be viewed online at www.mea.org.