Tiger & Gecko Sgraffito Bowls

Artist Statement: The inspiration behind my ceramic work originated from an artist local to my area named Jeff Szarzi. He uses a mainly black and white sgraffito, which pictures Alaska’s wildlife and beauty. A goal I had was to create bowls that were not only visually appealing, but also easy to eat out of. Which is something that Szarzi does very well in order for his pieces to be functional for everyday use. In contrast to his work, my bowls are themed around a rainforest/jungle ecosystem. I wanted the tiger and gecko to be the main figures, while the matching landscape bowls complimented them. The tiger is an animal I highly appreciate, and thought sgraffito would capture the stripes well. Even though the gecko is a very different animal in contrast to the tiger, I chose it because it could still coexist in the same habitat to match my theme. The gecko is also partly inspired by my childhood memories of catching geckos in the garden at my great grandmother's house in Hawaii, when I used to visit my family there.