Hands and Hearts of Clay

Hands and Hearts of Clay by ceramic artist Susan Zimmerman is an exhibit of interpretive realism that blends authenticity with artistic interpretation. The pieces are sculpted in porcelain and smoke fired with organic materials, giving the works an ancient look. As the works took shape so too did the stories of Hands and Hearts of Clay. Some of the various displays depict Egyptian mythology’s Weighing of the Heart, a gold-leafed heart that pays homage to the “heart of gold” expression, a romantic heart mixed with interpretive anatomical features that alludes to its origins based on a heart-shaped seed pod once used as a cure-all in the ancient city of Cyrene, and a pair of hands that resemble artifacts from an archaeological dig.