Mano verde (Green Thumb)

People said to have a “green thumb” succeed with their plants because they not only care for them properly, but truly show that they love them. That love, which many of us received during our upbringing from gardening parents and grandparents, is the one we continue today thanks to their example.

This production is composed of four modeled ceramic watering cans and a selection of twelve macro photographs.

In the ceramic pieces, techniques were explored that would allow vegetation to remain alive, both inside and outside the watering cans. For the interiors, glazes and fused glass were used; in this way, they can contain water and aquatic plants. On the exterior walls, the texture of unglazed bisque was mostly sought in order to facilitate the growth of moss and lichens. Iron was also used for the handles.

The object “watering can” is taken as a representative element of the garden. Through these pieces, not only the care of plants in any garden is explicitly symbolized, but also a desire for collective environmental awareness.

The watering cans are not stripped of their context —as in the case of object art— but rather take on other dimensions, reinforce their function and meaning, and become charged with new symbolisms.

Photographs: Marina Naip Herrera, Sofía Schiavoni and Suyay Herrera.