JMc9 Julia McKenzie - The Gulp Small

Title of artwork: The Gulp
Medium: Hand built slipware
Description: A group of swallows is a gulp -
This gulp of slipware swallow bottles will throng together and hopefully invite viewers to fill them with their thoughts and reflections.. They are Wishing wells, lightening rods and touchstones.
Swifts and swallows spend the majority of their time in the air, but when they return and make their nests it is from the earth of fields and riverbanks. They like to nest in barns and buildings, as if they want to be near us. The Gulp vessels are hand built from clay and like the nests, share a form that has a space at its heart to be filled.
A swallow out at sea is a sign of hope and a promise of home . It signifies survival and renewal. They are sometimes seen as the souls of those who are lost at sea and then borne home in swallow form. They signify return.
These fragile symbols seem more poignant than ever to me . Man threatening all of nature, the anxiety of habitat loss and climate change. The longing for better times ahead. The swallow is my favourite of all birds and I feel a slight anxiety and sadness when I watch them now as well as a real joy that soars. We scan the skies in April for a glimpse of the first swallow or swift.