Currently on Exhibit

Raku pottery vase, ‘The Flight of Icarus’, tells the tale of the fabled flight of Icarus and serves as a cautionary tale for those who think they know better than their father. It also tells the tale of a foolish king and continuing on in the face of grief and the loss of a loved one.

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One day Daedulus a master craftsman and artist of some renown and power was commissioned by the King of Crete, Minos to build the labyrinth that would eventually house the Minatour. Not long after completing the labyrinth, his patron imprisoned Daedulus and his son Icarus. Minos, was obviously not the brightest leader in the world at the time. Imprisoning a genius in a maze of their own devising isn’t the smartest move. Remind you of any current world leaders?

Of course Daedulus was able to come up with a solution for him and his son to escape the labyrinth. He constructed wings! Move over Red Bull! Daedulus was giving people wings way before you!

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The wings he built for him and his son were made of wax and feathers and they worked like a charm. Daedulus warned his son Icarus not to fly to close to the sun, because the wax might melt.

While making their escape, Icarus was caught up in the excitement of flight. He ignored his father’s warning. As he got higher and higher the wax softened, and then melted. As the feathers fell one by one, so would Icarus, who crashed into the sea and was drowned. Perhaps Daedulus should have known better. Teenagers have a long history of not listening to their parents.

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Grief stricken, Daedulus settled in Sicily and hung up his wings for good, lamenting with grief that his own creation was responsible for the death of his son by the sun.

What do you think of my latest raku pottery vase, ‘The Flight of Icarus’?