a bit of history: Town Drunk

One of my favorite recent pieces of Greg's is his Town Drunk jug, pictured to the left. It's tough to get a good sense of scale from this photo, but the jug is a large one, even for Greg. It's a generous gallon. . . at 10 inches high, it's an inch or so shorter than his usual gallon jugs, but a good bit broader.

I particularly like the expression on this guy. . . his eyes are expressive, but a little unfocussed. The simple punctuated pupils accentuate the vaguely blank look. The ears and nose are generous, and the lines show some wear in this character's life.

My favorite elements, of course, are the tiny jugs affixed to the head. When he began working on the face, Greg had just finished making a batch of small jugs. He turns these on the wheel, more or less just like the big ones. Usually, Greg decorates the small jugs just like the big ones, but he's been seeking out ways to add more and more detail to the jugs he's making. Greg planned out the additions carefully, then joined all the little jugs in a sort of crown around the head of the big jug.

Each is a separate vessel, so they can be played like tiny little jug-band jugs. (Three of them in a row are tuned to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb", which is a nice coincidence. :) They could each hold a tiny bit of mixer, but I digress. . . the really interesting elements to me are the visual complexity all those little pieces add, and the story. He's the town drunk, so he's got liquor on his mind.

The jug has provoked some great reactions. People have suggested new names (the best of which was Pothead), admired it, and commented on the detail. Most people realize immediately the amount of work that went into this piece, since it's clear that the little jugs are also handmade. One boy at a recent show even launched into a long story about the jug: if the little jugs were pressed in sequence, a diamond would rise up from the middle spout. Of course, an ominous voice would warn those present to beware. . . .

I'm impressed by Greg's imagination, but I'm really impressed by the spark it gives to viewers. They react to his imagination by coming up with ideas of their own.