Red, White and Blue

Happy Fourth of July! 

Hopefully you have some fun event planned to celebrate our nation’s holiday. I’ve been making flags again. At the risk of sounding unpatriotic, I have to admit that they are not my favorite thing to hand-build. I favor the organic shapes of leaves and pots formed over pumpkins. Flags are linear and pretty much all look alike. (I realize that is the point.) Linearity occurs rarely in my studio, but with the flags I measure angles and count the stripes. They are sharply rectangular and have straight (well, wavy) lines. I can’t take the liberties with them that I do many things, although I acknowledge that I never count their stars. 

I made my first stoneware flag years ago when our son Mark was at the Coast Guard Academy. The child who wanted no structure goes to a military academy? It wasn’t just boats and water, he explained, but the outcome of having a philosophically anti-military mother and a colonel father. (We do have amazing discussions in our family.) I made a flag for son Greg when he became an Eagle Scout and one for a military neighbor who got promoted. Living only a few hours outside Washington, DC, the flags are always popular. A friend came home from a tour of the White House with a photo of one of my flags on a desk there. I liked that---even if I grumped all the way through that administration.

Mark retired from the Coast Guard this year and I still make flags twice a year. There are never a lot of them around but if I am into measuring, I’m making multiples so I do six at a time. The stars are the best part. They are the final phase and I stick them on with drippy glaze that attaches them securely during the firing. I am careful to get the stripes right and I don’t mess with our colors, but I lay wet glazy stars on until it looks like there are enough and trust my numerical independence is covered by the First Amendment. Have a great Fourth and a safe one!

American Flags

American flags. That’s what I made this week. I began making them years ago when our oldest son graduated from the Coast Guard Academy. I pointed out to him that I did not relish hearing about 64 foot waves, but that I was proud of his search and rescue work. Then I made a stoneware flag for a neighbor, a military physician, when he was promoted, which began a wider call for Kahoka flags. However, I still make only six or eight flags a year. It does not take many of them to meet my quota for straight lines, measuring, and counting. While I always count the stripes, I admit that I never count the stars but simply fill up the blue space. It a privilege to create such a significant icon out of clay, and I do so with respect. On the other hand, it is the meaning of the symbol that matters, along with its care, rather than precise replication. A neighbor took a picture of a Kahoka flag in the White house; I was pleased, but I had no need to go see it there. The only time I toured the White house, I saw JFK. (Wow, that really dates me!) 

Now if you want to own one of these somewhat limited American flags then head on over to OASIS Fine Art & Craft or to Lost River Artisan Cooperative. They will be more than happy to assist you in your purchase.