Created in response to the coronavirus pandemic and made possible by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, Under Pressure explores how delicate ceramic creatures can represent themes ranging from innocence to vulnerability, from hope to despair, from breath to death. The project was created by artist Jami Milne, teaching the art of slip casting, mold making and the interpretation of conceptual art while working alongside the pottery students of Central Academy.

"When an animal, a rabbit, say, beds down in a protecting fencerow, the weight and warmth of his curled body leaves a mirroring mark upon the ground. The grasses often appear to have been woven into a birdlike nest, as he turned in a circle before subsiding into rest. This soft bowl in the grasses, this body-formed evidence of hare, has a name, an obsolete but beautiful word: meuse. (Enticingly close to Muse, daughter of Memory, and source of inspiration.) Each of us leaves evidence on the earth that in various ways bears our form." - From Sally Mann’s Hold Still

The work included within the preview collection of meuse embodies the concepts of time, motherhood, dormancy and healing, organized chaos and the creation of protective circles.

Originally from the installation feeding ourselves the wrong memories for survival, this two pack of porcelain peanuts is a perfect token to keep in your pocket or share with a friend.