Snow on Flint Hills

Clare Tucker, artist

1942–2014

Snow on Flint Hills, 1982

Where object was made: Kansas, United States

Material/technique: porcelain

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 24.3 x 19 x 4 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 9 9/16 x 7 1/2 x 1 9/16 in

Credit line: Classroom Collection

Accession number: C2003.003.01,2

On display: Perkins Central Court

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Collection Cards: Land

The Flint Hills are a unique tallgrass prairie ecosystem found in Kansas, full of interesting plants and animals. The curves of these ceramic pieces show the rolling Kansas hills covered in snow and the ripples reflect wind-blown snowdrifts.

Have you ever visited the Flint Hills?
Imagine how it might feel to walk across the prairie on a snowy day.

Looking After: Art and Care in Education Across Kansas

Each work here represents aspects of the physical land of Kansas. The red vase is made from clay sourced from the northeastern part of the state, shaped by artist and art educator Marie Benson while teaching at the University of Kansas. The bronze sculpture shows a map of Lawrence etched across its surface. If you look closely, you may find the intersection of Mississippi and 11th streets, close to where you are now. The white ceramic undulates like snow on the Flint Hills, a tallgrass prairie ecosystem growing over limestone ridges in southeast Kansas.

The potter, Clare Bell, describes her piece in this way: "With the use of the low, flat vessel forms, the potter, an avid cross-country skier, tries to evoke the gentle, rolling, vast and flat Kansas landscape. The fine grained porcelain body precisely reflects the ripple of the cutting wire just as fine grained snow reflects the ripples of the never ceasing wind on the snowy landscape.