#jimmcdowell

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✨My first ever Face Jug. Face jugs are traditional African American art and practice, derived directly from Nkisi dolls of the Congo. Here in America, the jugs hollow belly eventually replaced the belly of a doll, but the concept of rootwork and Ancestral Veneration continued on. Today, sadly, there is only ONE African American traditional potter who makes face jugs. Jim Mcdowell alone has been able to pass along the oral tradition to the next generation, reminding us of the sacred practice of using face jugs as grave markers, with faces scary enough to get the Devil and Demons of America away from the soul, allowing it to rise to paradise without trauma (amongst other uses). All the rest who have continued the tradition are white people whose Appalachian ancestors took the tradition, not really understanding what it meant. Today, for my first jug, I chose to make a face that honored all sides of my ancestry–I modeled her as a mixture of the traditional Face Jars and Olmec Heads. What do you think? I’m already thinking about making some more… (Inspired by a post @darealhoodoo made on FB showing white people selling Face Jugs for $3k-100k each which got me in my feelings because I am very familiar with the story if Dave the Potter and that’s just not ok). You can purchase a custom one in my Etsy shop: [email protected]

Jim McDowell “The Black Potter” #jimmcdowell #orzostudio (at Orzo Studio)