Joyce Leatherwood
Coffee and Cigarettes
3 x 9 x 6"
Fired Ceramic
$150
Half filled cups of coffee and ashtrays overflowing with cigarette butts were constants of my childhood. The car full of smoke and the smell of old coffee permeated family vacations. But I remember the hands that held the coffee cups and lit the cigarettes… This sculpture entitled Coffee and Cigarettes is handbuilt and formed using a speckled brown clay.
Artist's Statement:
I remember specific moments of growing up. Some of the memories are painful, some are happy, and some are wistful. The clay sculptures I am currently making are illustrations of these memories. Some are very obvious and illustrative and some are more vague and ambiguous. Some are very personal and some are more universal.
More and more people in today’s world, are less and less able to remember and vocalize their past in the advent of high rates of dementia. Perhaps recreating my childhood memories is my way to remember and retain these moments and memories of my own life in a way that is tangible and lasting. I also hope to inspire conversations about childhood memories - mine and the viewers. Saving the memories from being lost.