This series carries anger, frustration and a yearning to do something new by breaking what was done in the past. Rabel broke his own finished vases, feeling great—like leaving a bad relationship. The clay and ceramic pay tribute to his sense of homeland. He brought the organic, abstract pieces together to express the connection he feels to his history and culture. In mounting them on wood, he honors their importance as part of history, as if to acknowledge that these used to serve practical functions, and they now exist simply to be remembered. In securing the ceramic to the wood, the colored molding paste acts as the bond between history, stability and strength.

Ceramic mounted on wooden base