Vessel

Beeswax, wasp nest on pottery, 2012

The pottery, which serves as the exterior vessel of this piece, was created by Alex McConnell, and donated to me.  I then filled it with ascending layers of wax, which have the appearance of a kind of hive.  To add to this hive-like imagery, I added a literal wasp nest.  Each of these three items: pottery, nest, and wax, then serves some purpose of being a vessel.  A vessel of communication (wax), a vessel of nesting (nest), a vessel of service (pottery).  Each of these is also highly fragile, while maintaining a kind of elegance, which I think serves to illustrate the apostle Paul’s point that “we hold this treasure [of Christ’s glory] in jars of clay.”