Pain

Ceramic sculpture, white raku glaze, black India Ink.

Pain's head is cut off and leaning on his right shoulder. His facial expression is torment, the mouth is open and the eyes are sewn shut, with his right eye barely visible. He looks as though he has strained just enough to pull the stitch loose that he might see slightly from the corner of his eye. There's a split in his skull, down his face and through his chest. His clothing is really torn and he has only one button left on his shirt. The name for this one is obvious; the gash in his head is for painful memories, the one in his chest, pain of the heart. The eyes sewn shut for things we don't want to face, yet breaking the stitch shows that we must. The open mouth is a cry for help. Pain's misplaced head is a reminder to keep your head on your shoulders when making decisions in this life and that we all at times must lean on others.