Jason Wesaw is Potowatomi and from the Great Lakes area.  Each piece is handmade and the simplicity of forms reflects the modernism with the context of his art.  He says of his pottery,

“My work fits somewhere in between this deep connection to the land and the searching for spirit that resides within all things.  This life-force reveals itself to me in bold colors, simple patterns, and straight forward forms.  The vessel is important, in the sense that it acts as a body from which the spirit comes.  But, my forms are decidedly simple and upright.  The deer tail ornamentation of the lidded forms is the physical ‘emergence’ of this spirit.  Each vessel, drawing, or textile is my re-interpretation of an old story, an observation of our connection to the natural world, or a confirmation of the deeply spiritual essence of all things in the physical realm of life.”

For his pottery, he uses glazes, underglazes and the top of the lid is a dyed deer tail.  The shapes are simple but with thoughtfulness in the content of the design.  This jar is entitled, “Leaving Tracks”.  Jason says of this piece:

“Leaving Tracks: we have no tradition of pottery left amongst our people.  This can be said about many things, including the fact that of 50,000+ Potawatomi, we have less than 10 fluent speakers living.  But…our traditional teachings assure us that nothing is really ever lost.  Rather, elders and wisdom keepers set different aspects of our culture down along the path of life, just waiting for the right ones to come and pick them back up.”

Jason has won numerous awards for his pottery and paintings.  He is a creative force in Native art and we are excited to have his work in the gallery.