Folklore of the Teeth

Here is a project that I was working on for my final assignment for advanced ceramics.  Lately I have been finding myself exploring folklore and old stories that I have been finding in old books from my favorite place in the world, Good Cents.  

There was a simple concept behind this piece, and that was to illustrate the cultural beliefs that people hold about teeth, including the power behind them, the practices of curing toothaches, and how one's future can be determined through teeth.  I illustrated text that I pulled from a very interesting book (that has been probably sitting for years in remote storage in the library) entitled Folklore of the Teeth by Leo Kanner, written in 1928.  I was also inspired by a new idea that is trending- teeth tattoos.

L to R: Traveler, Urine/Mother's Milk/Christ's Blood, Tethered, Heimdal, Fish Vesu, 
Cradle Ornamentation, Evil Eye, and Milk Tooth Exchange

Detail of Traveler.

 Each tooth varies in size, from around 2.5" in diameter to 6" in diameter.  They are drawn on with pen and colored pencils, and coated in a thin layer of white wax. 

I am thinking of how to display these in the future... maybe tight little boxes that they can fit snugly in.  I am also researching different types of malleable wax and rubber.

I will probably make some more of these as I can't keep my nose out of this book! What the heck are some of these people thinking?!