R. Ruthie Dibble
Family Reunion: The Clay Sculptures of Babette Wainwright

Ceramics in America 2023

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Studio of Babette Wainwright, Madison, Wisconsin, 2022. (Unless otherwise noted, all photography by Dakota Mace.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Studio of Babette Wainwright, Madison, Wisconsin, 2022.

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Babette Wainwright, Night Whispers, Madison, Wisconsin, 1999. Commercial clay and pigments. H. 19".

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Babette Wainwright, Prayer Circle, Madison, Wisconsin, 2021. Lowfired earthenware and pigments. H. 12". 

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Unidentified Haitian artist, Maman, Segon, and Boula (Vodou drum set) with vèvè, circa 1960. Haitian hardwoods and cowhide. H. of tallest 31 1/2". (Courtesy of Duke University, Sacred Arts of the Black Atlantic.) Dr. J. Lorand Matory, Lawrence Richardson Distinguished Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University, purchased this drum set from a Voudouizan in Boston in 2008.

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Detail of Night Whispers, illustrated in fig. 3.

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Detail of Babette Wainwright’s studio window with miniature kanari, 2022.

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Kanari in the kitchen of the Paul Family Home, 2023, Désormeau neighborhood, Dame-Marie, Haiti. Digital photograph. (Courtesy of Culcoit Paul.)

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Unidentified Haitian artist, double pot and drink vessels for the Marassa Spirits, 2017. Lowfired earthenware. W. 8". (Courtesy of Duke University, Sacred Arts ofthe Black Atlantic.) Dr. Matory purchased these Marassa pots at Marché Hippolyte in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Babette Wainwright, Taino Vessel, Madison, Wisconsin, 2021. Lowfired earthenware. H. 7".

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Unidentified Taíno artist, Bowl, thirteenth–fifteenth century. Low-fired earthenware. W. 9". (Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Vincent and Margaret Fay, 1993, 1993.523.2.)

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Detail of Taíno Vessel illustrated in fig. 10.

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Babette Wainwright, Dreaming of Rising, Madison, Wisconsin, 2006. Low-fired earthenware. H. 22".

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Unidentified Haitian artist, Pakèt Kongo for Papa Loko, 2018, feathers, satin ribbon, and mixed media, 26" x 6". (Photo courtesy of Duke University, Sacred Arts of the Black Atlantic.) Manmi Maude and the other priests of the Sosyete Nago Temple in Jacmel, Haiti, prepared this pakèt kongo for Dr. Matory in a series of ceremonies in 2018.

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Kalbas, Babette Wainwright’s Studio, Madison, Wisconsin, 2022.

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Babette Wainwright, Water Bearer, Madison, Wisconsin, 2008. Low-fired earthenware. H. 24"

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Detail of Water Bearer, illustrated in fig. 16.

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Babette Wainwright, Kiln Watcher, Madison, Wisconsin, 2000. Lowfired earthenware. H. 14".

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Babette Wainwright, Sel Lakay Ki Kraze, Madison, Wisconsin, 2010. Low-fired earthenware and pigments.H. 28 1/2".

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Detail of Sel Lakay Ki Kraze, illustrated in fig. 19.

  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Babette Wainwright, Potomitan, Madison, Wisconsin, 2002. Low-fired earthenware. H. 75".

  • Figure 22
    Figure 22

    Detail of Potomitan, illustrated in fig. 21.

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23

    Babette Wainwright in her studio, Madison, Wisconsin, 2022. (Photo, R. Ruthie Dibble.)