Garden (Feast) of Paradise

"We, the curators wanted to highlight the cultural and artistic influences of Islam and the Middle East in our own and others artwork in contemporary ceramics. In a time when some in the West demonize the world of Islam, we want to highlight the beauty and contributions that this diverse culture offers. Additionally, we want to give greater focus to the historic contributions of Islam and Middle Eastern cultures to the world of ceramics. Our work has consciously been influenced and persuaded by this heritage, particularly for this project and relative to our time. Our intention is to point out the closeness and the relative visual comparisons that we share as ceramicists, and as a metaphor for what we share in our larger lives."