2016.3 Honey Badger

This is the piece that came directly from my trip to South Africa. Africa completely put me back together emotionally after a difficult summer. The abundance of Africa gave me back my creativity and my immortality.

Honey badgers are fascinating animals that have recently become an internet sensation. They are related to skunks. The animal is most known for its relationship with the honey guide, a small bird. In the Kalahari and surrounds, a honey guide will find a bees nest and lead the honey badger to it. The honey badger has very tough skin with the exception of its nose and anus, which it protects with its tail. At the hive, supposedly the honey badger backs up to the opening and, according to the Internet, 'farts'. Recall that they are related to skunks. The bees leave, and the badger and honey guide feast on honey and wax.

I made the badger from one of my new favorite clays, grogzilla, which has large chunks of feldspar in it. These show up as small white bumps after high firing. I used black and white slips for the color, and the piece was fired to cone 11 or so in soda.