Ceramics Monthly: “A Month of Urns” is comprised of 28 pastel, full-bodied vessels layered and veiled with hearty floral adornment. Can you discuss the impetus for this body of work and how these vessels conceptually function?
Abbey Peters: The body of work began as an avenue to discreetly deliver needed medicine through decorative vessels should state laws prevent administering reproductive care. I researched apothecaries, midwifery, and funerary urns, and
considered the act of giving someone flowers. I worked at a flower shop, where a customer—unbeknownst to me—used the floral arrangements as a vessel to deliver illicit drugs to rehabilitation facilities. A shocking story for another day,
but one I will never forget, and an early seed for this series.
Two days after the Texas Heartbeat Act and the ability to bring civil suits for aiding or abetting an abortion went into effect, my sister, living in Texas, announced she was pregnant with a rare, extreme-risk pregnancy. I thought of the flower shop and
my sister’s situation and understood the desperation in a new light. During her pregnancy, I lived with worry for her safety every day. I created vessels shrouded in floral motifs and soft pastel colors that could be given as a gift, and easily
dismissed as just a decorative object. The decoration offers a veil of protection. The hidden compartments within the vessel conceal materials used in abortion care throughout history.
CM: Highlighting the experiences of women (historically and contemporarily) as they navigate bodily autonomy, matrilinear transmission of knowledge, and social safety are common themes in your practice. Why do you feel these themes are
so important right now?
AP: I now navigate the world knowing that my mother grew up holding more control over her body than I, my sister, or my niece, now two years old, can access today. I often consider the ironies and histories of the conversation around
reproductive freedom in this country. So much knowledge has been passed down from sisters, mothers, grandmothers, and friends, through daily practices in tending the earth and nurturing one another. Abortion is a relatively new term, weaponized against
people in the last century; reproductive health was previously considered basic care. Despite the advances in medicine today, I fear we are quickly retreating to back alleys and potentially lethal doses of pennyroyal tea out of fear and desperation.
CM: Where has your post-graduate research taken your practice and what is next for you?
AP: Lately, I’ve been interested in quilts as another decorative and overlooked item in domestic spaces. They provide softness and warmth to our bodies, often made by the hands of loved ones. My mother is a quilter and her mother
was a quilter. I’ve been going back through their fabrics, patterns, and unfinished quilt tops. Using these as references, I’m developing a body of work that considers ceramics and fibers in domestic spaces as heirloom objects historically
made by women for acts of care.
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Ceramics Monthly: “A Month of Urns” is comprised of 28 pastel, full-bodied vessels layered and veiled with hearty floral adornment. Can you discuss the impetus for this body of work and how these vessels conceptually function?
Abbey Peters: The body of work began as an avenue to discreetly deliver needed medicine through decorative vessels should state laws prevent administering reproductive care. I researched apothecaries, midwifery, and funerary urns, and considered the act of giving someone flowers. I worked at a flower shop, where a customer—unbeknownst to me—used the floral arrangements as a vessel to deliver illicit drugs to rehabilitation facilities. A shocking story for another day, but one I will never forget, and an early seed for this series.
Two days after the Texas Heartbeat Act and the ability to bring civil suits for aiding or abetting an abortion went into effect, my sister, living in Texas, announced she was pregnant with a rare, extreme-risk pregnancy. I thought of the flower shop and my sister’s situation and understood the desperation in a new light. During her pregnancy, I lived with worry for her safety every day. I created vessels shrouded in floral motifs and soft pastel colors that could be given as a gift, and easily dismissed as just a decorative object. The decoration offers a veil of protection. The hidden compartments within the vessel conceal materials used in abortion care throughout history.
CM: Highlighting the experiences of women (historically and contemporarily) as they navigate bodily autonomy, matrilinear transmission of knowledge, and social safety are common themes in your practice. Why do you feel these themes are so important right now?
AP: I now navigate the world knowing that my mother grew up holding more control over her body than I, my sister, or my niece, now two years old, can access today. I often consider the ironies and histories of the conversation around reproductive freedom in this country. So much knowledge has been passed down from sisters, mothers, grandmothers, and friends, through daily practices in tending the earth and nurturing one another. Abortion is a relatively new term, weaponized against people in the last century; reproductive health was previously considered basic care. Despite the advances in medicine today, I fear we are quickly retreating to back alleys and potentially lethal doses of pennyroyal tea out of fear and desperation.
CM: Where has your post-graduate research taken your practice and what is next for you?
AP: Lately, I’ve been interested in quilts as another decorative and overlooked item in domestic spaces. They provide softness and warmth to our bodies, often made by the hands of loved ones. My mother is a quilter and her mother was a quilter. I’ve been going back through their fabrics, patterns, and unfinished quilt tops. Using these as references, I’m developing a body of work that considers ceramics and fibers in domestic spaces as heirloom objects historically made by women for acts of care.
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