Meet the Lost Civilizations Winner: Jennifer Slough, Intermediate Category
Lost Civilizations Challenge
Introduction: The Intermediate Winner
Jennifer Slough won the Intermediate category of the Lost Civilizations Challenge with her well-conceived and detailed copper metal clay piece, “Vinca Cat Amphora.” The jurors noted the seamless connection between head and body and the personal attention given to the hand carving and forming of the pot.
Jennifer was inspired by the Vinca culture, one of the few true lost civilizations of the world. A Neolithic culture in what is now the Balkans, in southeastern Europe, it existed from 5400 to 4500 B.C. and was home to some of the largest settlements in prehistoric Europe before gradually fading away because of environmental and economic pressures. It belonged to the Copper Age, or Chalcolithic period, when people are first known to have worked copper into tools and weapons, and it produced the earliest known evidence of copper smelting in the world.
Zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figurines were hallmarks of the culture, including some of the earliest known representations of domestic cats in the world. These were often made from dark, burnished, red-colored pottery. Jennifer re-created a miniature Vinca-inspired zoomorphic cat amphora. She made it from copper to honor the Chalcolithic period, then formed it by hand and carved it freehand using minimal tools, reflecting how vessels may have been formed and decorated in that era. The form is hollow and has a removable lid, or head, so it can be used as a vessel. The red copper emulates the red clay used by the culture, and the dark patina resembles the dark burnishing applied to Vinca-era pottery.
Jennifer’s Story
Jennifer lives in Hertfordshire, England, near London, with her wonderful husband and beautiful 3-year-old daughter. She started working with metal clay a few years ago when she attended a half-day beginners workshop and immediately knew she loved it. She has barely gone a day without making something in metal clay since.
Jennifer has experience with kumihimo, a Japanese technique for braiding multiple strands of yarn, as well as traditional silversmithing, macrame and beading, and she recently tried vitreous enamel. Metal clay is her current medium of choice, though she combines it with other materials as her projects require.
She recently completed her Art Clay Level 2 diploma and has started working toward the next level. She has also begun the Mastery Modules, which she sees as a great way to learn and try new techniques. The best thing she feels she has made so far is the working kaleidoscope she created for the previous AMCAW challenge, which she still plays with all the time.
Jennifer has made metal clay friends online through Facebook groups, and she is part of the metal clay community on Skool. She hopes to meet more people who share her passion for metal clay at the next SINTER conference.
While researching lost civilizations for the challenge, she came across the cat-inspired ceramics of the Vinca culture and was hooked. She sketched out some ideas, then made several wood clay burnout cores in a few shapes and sizes to build the vessel around. She started by shaping a plain copper vessel around a core and then made a separate top to fit it. Once the general shape was right, she refined the form and carved the design by hand using files. She fired the piece, gave it a light polish and applied a patina for a rustic look.
The burnout core didn’t burn out completely, leaving a puck of charcoal stuck inside the vessel. She used files to break it up and then washed it out. Next time, she would fire the piece longer so the core disintegrates completely. She is also tempted to make a version that could be worn as a necklace, perhaps with a hinged or attached lid.
Jennifer encourages people to enter challenges as a way to work outside their comfort zones and make things they might never have considered otherwise. AMCAW’s challenges also offer personalized feedback, even to entrants who don’t win.
You can find Jennifer here:
Instagram: @silverjen_jewellery
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/silverjen.jewellery
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/silverjen
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