Silver Koi, Rising

In many traditions, the fish that swims upstream carries a meaning older than language itself: perseverance, the refusal to be carried by the current. This koi was built scale by scale, each small clay arc pressed and placed with the patience that handwork demands. The oval body echoes the form of ancient medallions, of seals pressed into wax. The pale slip glaze softens the terracotta warmth beneath, so the piece holds two temperatures at once, cool on the surface, earthy underneath. Afternoon light pulls shadows into the hollows between scales, making the fish seem to move even when the room is still. Mounted on a hand-cut suede mat and framed in dark wood with a gilt inner edge, the work is ready to live on a wall as it is, a quiet, unhurried presence that asks nothing more than a moment of attention.