Evolve, where will you place yours?

As part of the CHARTS Evolve project, ceramic artist Karen Mcpail has created a new interactive work. Her first jar was placed at The Ark on 6 April, just off the main road into Tighnabruaich, and will stay at the site until at least June. A second jar will arrive in mid-April. 

The jar design was inspired by the Maids of Bute and is made from red earthenware clay with black iron text. 

The public will be encouraged to engage with the work, and lift the lid of the jar to reveal the highly decorated and vibrant ceramic fragments.  Each fragment has imagery inspired by the nature of Argyll - oak and rowan, flora and lichen, rock marks, shells and seaweed. The bold graphic patterns link to domestic pottery and provide the finder with a small moment of reflection on what they view as ‘precious’ and worth preserving for future generations.

Clay dug from the earth has been transformed and decorated and once ‘broken‘ returned to the natural environment. The pot is simple, and alludes to ancient archaeological finds, the fragments sparkle and are a symbol of our relationship with materials and nature. Many fragments have spots of gold lustre. Gold is a natural element but also a symbol of ‘worth’.

Where will you place yours?