Painted Rocks Canyon

Wayne Higby decided to join the faculty of New York College of Ceramics of Alfred University with some hesitation. He was well aware of their reputation for the traditional, functional Alfred vessel, and was unsure whether his work, which was beginning to break away from the conventional vessel, would be accepted. Around 1970, Higby decided that the vessel did not have to be functional. In New York he began to create ceramics inspired by the landscapes of his native Coloradan home. Higby utilizes the vessel form to create these sculptural landscapes. Painted Rocks Canyon creates the allusion of three-dimensional sculpture by juxtaposing five separate lidded containers.