Greatness is chronological, quantitative, and caereful
Word count: 1391
When one leaves Rome, depending on whether they’re from it or not, they can carry its ancient traditions and artistic styles with them. It’s a form of immense respect to keep these art styles alive. I think this could preserve history and resources. Many cultures lose parts of their history because of the dilemma between gatekeeping and exploiting it, but some respect and reproduce this art, which is an accurate call and response to the craftsmen that came before them. For example, our art demo with Roberto was a good example of how even maintaining the use of blending water with clay and the timing of the dipping and drying technique is fascinating, and based on the number of pieces in his shop, I’m curious if they’re all made by him, how long they took over the years, how they are properly packaged and transported to exhibitions. We spoke a little about the process of the kiln, and how it is possible to see the pots from the outside
Something I found distinctive about Etruscan art is the way it is made. i learned a little bit about the kiln and the steps it takes to create ancient pottery a few years ago, but never imagined I’d get to see the real photos and product preserved so well. What stood out to me the most was that there was no carving, but more so layering of clay that created a bumpy surface along the lines. It made me realize that the mirrors we took a look at a couple of days before were gifted to women at weddings.
What I also found beautiful was the reproduction of this art and how it can form contemporary/modern art. I think it’s so special when someone is focused and uses formal teaching to create their own personal anecdote of culture; we get to see the best of both worlds. SO i am absolutely itching to pour this concept of studying the craft and then, once experimenting more, learning to create my own art and just being an honest craftsman. I think art for me has always come like second nature, that’s only half of it though. I think the other half is really learning how, for example, the ancients carefully painted lines with whisker brushes, for example. That could be me staying in standard tunings and studying the basics. Before resistance, there needs to be instruction because if there is no structure to the art we each make, it may just keep us stuck in circles, saying the same thing, or just not even knowing what we are saying. Homage is brave.
As noted in Jean McInotosh Turf’s article, The Etruscans, these pots were used for many things: wine, ore, and food. They are very dark and seem very strong. “While some Etruscan products, like metals, may no longer be recognizable, others remain distinctive, such as the black,reduction-fired “bucchero” pottery made from ca. 650BCinto the early fifth century with abundant regional variations.” Some variations of bucchero pottery are even in Roberto’s shop and I got a small tea cup for a family member.
There was so much to love about this day. I think initially I was really excited about the beach and even though I didn’t feel my best I still did my best to surrender to the beautiful day. There were distinctly 3 moments that woke something up in my heart. I think my energy was already on ten cause I get really giddy when I’m around artists of any sort because they’re super cool to me but meeting Roberto was genuinely amazing because witnessing his impact across the country and the years of dedication to his craft is something special. I don’t see it everyday. After Roberto’s presentation he was telling me that he’s also a graffiti artist and might be back in the city in the fall. I think it’s wonderful the places his craft has taken him and I hope to see his work in more places because he’s a genuine soul. it inspires me to really focus my devotion to my craft and not on random, scattered, or unimportant matters.
After talking about graffiti I showed him some of my art because the colors reminded me of some work I made in 2023, it’s a project called imaginary friends. it started when I was living in Jamaica queens after my aunt passed away. This was right after my debut solo performance at nyfw with Ulla Johnson and I had so much pressure on myself musically that it pushed me into a completely different creative avenue.
Here are some pieces from my shop shamiqua.com
The vibrancy of graffiti and the life of Roberto’s work woke up color and vibrancy in me. I often find myself hiding from color because it attracts all sorts of things back home and I don’t always want to be visible because of that but seeing Roberto in his element sort of inspired me massively. When we got to his shop Pithos, I was fascinated by so many of the beautiful pieces. I thought of my family and how they would have loved some of the jewelry and tea cups. I can’t wait for them to see what I got for them. They’re going to love it. I feel like I keep getting off track writing this haha but as I was looking at some of the jewelry and Roberto came over and asked which I like and I chose the blue necklace because it reminded me of water which I am very allured and afraid of. He offered to me as a gift which made me feel so many emotions haha but it was such a beautiful moment I had to take a minute. Kindness is a soft spot especially from people I respect. It just gives me hope in humanity and teaches me how to keep others going. I always felt like I stood out even when I tried to hide it and in that moment I felt like I belonged to something much brighter, something that made sense. It’s not so much about the messenger, it’s the message. Art holds us together. From the moment we were talking about the Etruscan bucchero and clay layering I was nerding because actually how is that preserved so well just culturally and ethically. It has to take a sort of person. AND ALSO..I would love to see what becomes of the art of a person who is that studious. I know Rome has a lot of history but the attention to detail in its art is something that I don’t think can leave me.
Now to my fav part
Seeing the sunset at the beach was wonderful. This was the first sunset I’ve seen and it felt like a beautiful wrap up to the day. Someone back home actually asked me to bring them back some sand and I was like…why would they say that but it turns out the sand is healing because of all the iron in it allegedly. I can’t tell if I’m healed already from being in it or if I’m just happy to be on the trip maybe both haha. so I grabbed some sand for this person hopefully all goes well.
I was afraid to go in the water for so many reasons but after the encouragement of Lucy and Professor Yarrow I did it and it was so soothing and relaxing and I didn’t go too far in but I was happy just to be in the water. I love water. I’m also remembering Ramon and I almost getting swept away which made me laugh too hard. It was fun. Super fun.
The day didn’t go as planned mood wise but I got through it. And I’m glad I got to experience a wonderful day with such a wonderful cohort, curators and professor. It wasn’t perfect but it also was at the same time? If you know what I mean. Sometimes things go better than planned, but worse than expected and that’s fine.
Rome via Brooklyn 
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