I used a rough sculptural clay body with porcelain slip for the noble ladies.  These pieces were meant to be eighteen inches tall. However, my rapid loss of control materialized when I found myself surrounded by six-foot-tall ladies looking down their noses at me. As true patrons of the arts, the ladies are bona fide critics of all that is beauty and no one is safe from their discerning eye. 

The paintings are composed of oil on linen canvas and board. As a vital component of global subsistence, the humble potato has played significant roles in the histories of agriculture, immigration, and class. Although potatoes are not particularly remarkable nor listed in the social register, from being loaded with caviar and truffles on fine china in royal palaces and being honored in annual Peruvian celebrations, to their direly felt absence in cottier cabins throughout the Irish Famine, potatoes have been around the world and seen it all. 

The ladies share similarities with potatoes, in the sense that they are born dowdy and without extravagance. Akin to potatoes, the ladies become remarkable when adorned, displayed, and admired, but if left in the dark, they may grow withered, unruly, and barren. On many occasions, both parties have attended the same soirees. But, it is inherited opulence that ultimately sets them apart and seals their fate at the dinner table. 

This project required space, time, and support. Thank you to Sandra Lee for surrendering the entirety of her studio to me, no matter the hour. Thank you to Douglas Grigg for the opportunity to work bigger in his industrial kilns, and to James Thiel for standing these ladies up. 

-Cynthia McIntosh