Thursday, January 25, 2007

mudmen

When building men, the snow seems a purer medium, I suppose. Unless, like the Emperor Qin, you desire an army of terra cotta warriors to command in the netherworld beyond Xi'an. Or, like God, you desire a friend made from terra firma. But a child's need to create transcends having the best materials. It's still three parts snow or mud formed by hand, placed one on top the other until a pyramid of sorts, a stocky, rounded man, appears. Rocks for eyes, sticks for arms, leaves to crown the head, breath to warm and mold the clay into sentinels of art and joy and need.

4 comments:

Jeanne Damoff said...

They look like little feather-topped indians mid happy rain (snow?) dance. Delightful. :)

Unknown said...

Suddenly I feel like playing with mud...

allison said...

I hope you are going to preserve these creations. They'd look great in a shadowbox.

Inna said...

Karen,
Any medium can be pure when it is friend-building. Even blog spot. Thanks for sharing.
Jill K.