Clay Horses

Figure A--Horses are sleek and fast, plodding and dependable, versatile and unique. The human fascination with horses may be that we wish we were more like them. They possess a great deal of power, which is mainly derived from their instinct of flight. This idea of running away--of escaping--and the fantasy that surrounds these images are what fuels the passions of Nancy Jacobsohn. She captures the spirit of horses in clay.

Figure B--She strives to capture those characteristics of horses--graceful, powerful and beautiful--in clay. During the molding process, she must make decisions on what posture the horse will assume, what will the neck be doing, what positions the legs will be in, etc. The horse pictured, for instance, is nipping at an itch on its leg. The unusual finish on her horses is the result of the fire in the kiln.

Figure C--When the clay is fired, it is first sealed in heavy-duty aluminum foil with items such as dried leaves, pieces of wire, horse manure, hay, etc. When these items burn, they give off gases that, in turn, create lines and colors that are added not by Jacobsohn, but by the fire itself. The manner in which she has harnessed this intangible has brought her national acclaim.