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Rebekah Bogard’s work focuses on fictional and mysterious animals to explore the themes of daily life. This work is part of a larger installation titled "Memento Mori, Remember You Will Die," exploring the concept of human mortality and how death brings meaning to life. The serene, peaceful work depicts a creature fully in the moment, present with their actions and environment. This chance encounter reminds us that joy and beauty can be found in the simplicity of everyday life, and to appreciate it while we can.
To create her work, Bogard uses a low-fire earthenware clay body that she makes from scratch and forms by hand using the slab method alongside press molding and slip casting. She then bisque fires to cone 04 and finishes the work with either glaze, underglaze, oil paint, or a combination of all three. She prefers oil paint for its endless color choices and ability to achieve depth by layering up a myriad of translucent and luminous colors. Her work always begins on paper, where she draws animals of her own design then chooses the ones she finds most compelling to re-create with clay. Bogard describes ceramics as "the most challenging medium I have ever encountered" but one that never fails to keep her engaged.
