Endangered Species Ceramic Bowl

Purpose:

• To become familiar with using endangered species as an art subject

• To learn about photographer, Joel Satore and painter, Anne London, as well as the highly patterned art (alebrijes) from Oaxaca, Mexico

• To become acquainted with basic ceramic vocabulary

• To form and paint a ceramic animal bowl that contains both imagery of an endangered or threatened species of your choice and indication of the systems around it which promote that animal’s survival.

Reflection:

My ceramic bowl depicts the Ramsey Canyon Leopard Frog in a natural state: resting on top of a lily pad in a body of water. This calming, natural scene represented in an art form can help spread awareness about these endangered species in nature by showing the beauty of these animals. Seeing them from another viewpoint, in a colorful expression, can help open people’s eyes to what we’re destroying. How valuable these animals are to the world. The contrast in my color choice makes the frog the emphasis of the bowl because of the dark surroundings. What I focused on the most on my bowl was the face and expression of my endangered animal. I wanted to set a tone and give it emotion as a reminder that this is a real animal. My inspiration for this was taking the advice of Satore by looking into an animal’s eyes so you can get a deeper connection with the animal and its feelings. Through this, I made it a focal point when first looking at my bowl. That way it stands out and makes you think. It also shows how creatures from big and small are becoming extinct through all these problems, some that we can slowly change. From a petite butterfly to a big fierce wildcat, they’re slowly escaping our world. When you look at our bowls, you see the abstract color themes and patterns, but you also understand the beauty in the animal itself and will ponder about how it got to the point of endangerment.

I chose the Ramsey Canyon Leopard Frog because its innocent posture and big eyes instantly caught my attention. When I looked at its eyes from the first photo of the endangered animal's list, I knew I wanted to serve it justice through my painting. This frog is located in the state of Arizona, as well as southwest New Mexico, and northern Mexico. Its habitat includes aquatic areas of pine-oak, oak woodland, and semi-desert grassland environments. They forage in grassy or wet meadows that are usually near the edges of the water. They have a wide variety of prey from using their ambush and active foraging strategies. Threats that cause their endangerment are chytridiomycosis (a fungal skin disease), predation by non-native species, and habitat loss. Also, the destruction of vegetative habitats by livestock, conversion of natural springs, pools, and wetlands to stock tanks, and introduction of exotic species to cattle stock tanks are hurting the frogs. In my painting, I included patterns that the frog has as well as some of the food the Ramsey Canyon Leopard Frog eats. I had it set on a simple lily pad in the water. A natural setting, a scene that could be seen in everyday life. It shows the sad reality of how this simple experience is scarce.